Summersea Saga
by crosseyedbutterfly
Summary: Sequel to Twisted Tortallain Tale! This time, our fav group of teens are sent to Summersea...and it's crazy boy mage who runs things behind the scenes! Chapter 22 up!
1. Default Chapter

It's here!!! *smiles broadly* Yes, we have done it, my friends! Here it is, for your viewing pleasure: Summersea Saga, the most excellent and awesome sequel to Twisted Tortallian Tale. *Wild applause with people jumping out of buildings just to get a look* ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Tamora Pierce. If it doesn't look like it's from her, then it DOES belong to me and please ask if you can borrow it before you do! Which reminds me, I'm not making jack squat off of this so do me a favor and DON'T sue me because the most you could get is a ton of notes for stories that would mean nothing to do and some chocolate wrappers from my last splurge…^.^;;

Quick little summary: My friends and me loved writing the first one so much *grins* that we decided to do another! Some of your original favorites, plus some new ones that got dragged along this time, none of them with the same group as before, or in the same settings either…it should be a most interesting tale indeed. ^_~ 

Just to make things easier on you all this time, I'm going to post the groups as they come up in the story and in general who they are and what they do in my author profile. That way, if you get confused a lot, all you have to do is copy it from there and you have yourself a list you can confer to anytime you want! ^_^ 

*Lights start to dim, author's voice fading into the background*

Now, may I present the beginning of…Summersea Saga…

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**Prologue**

Two years and three months have passed since the 'Tortal Trip' (as those who were sucked into the other world like to call it) happened, and some things had changed since then. They haven't forgotten their experience, no, if anything it is something that dwells on their minds constantly for some. It has changed them, for the better or the worse none really know, but their lives have changed regardless.

Some have moved on to other schools, graduated from high school, gotten into college, you know the drill. But some parts of their lives haven't changed, and it is those parts that will have them chosen once again for one of the wildest rides of their lives. 

Some of them are going for round two. The only question is, what the heck are they supposed to do they do now?!

*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*

Trystan crossed her legs neatly, smoothing her desert-mage robes out of habit as the young woman to her right poured them all wine in tall, glass vessels of exquisite design. "'39?" she asked politely as she tasted it carefully, letting the flavor soak into her tongue before swallowing the bit that was in her mouth.

"1940," replied the younger woman with a slight smile. "T'was the best I could do on such short notice…" She adjusted the cowboy hat that sat on her head, a blue button-up shirt and faded jeans being her attire.

Trystan rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I'm sure, Grendal."

"Sorry I'm late!!" A young boy popped into the room out of thin air, his tousled curls and bright, green eyes giving him the look of perfect innocence.

"Why in the world do you continue to assume that form, Devan?" asked Grendal impatiently, getting him a bottle of juice from the counter. "You know you can't drink any of the good stuff while you're in it and you'll have to change back anyways before we go one with the arrangements for next week…"

"I happen to like looking like this," he said, straightening his tunic and leggings before running a hand through his hair to make it lay down flat in an attempt to make himself look all stiff and proper. He broke out into a grin as he failed miserably. "That, and it makes people underestimate me so much…"

"That is not always a good thing, brother," said Trystan seriously, though her eyes smiled down on him as he took a seat at the table. "What were you in a hurry about, though? I thought you hadn't had a group for a month…"

"Make it six," he groaned, slamming his head on the table none to gently. "I was late because I was trying to amuse myself with making huge sandstorms in the east in patterns and designs that the windmages wouldn't be able to unravel."

"I take it didn't work?" asked Grendal with a slight grin. "You know, you could just move the book again…"

"To where?" demanded Devan, sitting up quickly with his green eyes flashing. "Everywhere I've sent it all I get are these weak, boring, completely and totally sucky groups that never seem to enjoy themselves or amuse me with their antics no matter what I do!"

"You know…" said Grendal as she sat down, a shot of whiskey in her hand. "Wasn't there that one group that you really liked a few years back, Trystan? You could send yours there…"

"Yes, I remember the ones you speak of," said Trystan with a fond grin. "Making the king mad, robbing the rich blind, cooking for nobles, fighting constantly…yes, those were a few of their many peculiar talents…I suppose I could get you the spot…" 

"Please??" begged Devan, giving her puppy eyes as he clasped his hands in front of him. "I will be eternally in your debt…"

"You already are," replied Trystan with a wry twist of her mouth, waving him off with her hand. "Yes, I will, Devan. If anything, just to get you to stop looking like some dog that's been whipped…"

"He is, though!" protested Grendal, ducking the cup that was thrown at her head. "Hey, none of that now! This is my house you know."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!" he cried, ignoring the younger of the sisters and launching himself at the older on.

"Stop acting like your ten, for goddess sake!!" growled Trystan, casting him to the side and throwing a spell along with it that returned him to his normal state. He pushed his longish brown hair out of his eyes and stood up, stretching to his full six-foot frame as he worked the kinks out of his back. "Here's the place," she gave him a map of North Carolina, one of the schools there highlighted in red. "Send it there, and I promise you won't be disappointed."

"Thank you!" He grabbed the map, disappearing once more with a happy grin on his face. 

"Little brothers," sighed Grendal, shaking her head as Trystan suppressed a laugh. "Anyways, about next week…"

*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*

Olivia drove through the packed streets of Charlotte, nimbly dodging her way through traffic from plenty of experience before pulling into the high school that appeared on the left. Beside her in the seat sat a huge, dusty, leather-bound book that her mother had asked her to bring in that morning for Mr. Payne. She had no idea what it was, what it was for, or where her mother got in the first place; then again, she didn't really care either.

Pulling into her old place at the back of the school, she gathered her things and got out of the car; long, dark brown, curly hair framing her pale face as dark brown eyes peered at the scene around her, trying to figure out if anything had changed since her last visit. 

Of course, nothing had, and she quickly made her way into the band room where most everyone was at that moment, several other students and teachers joining her along the way. Providence was holding a band/orchestra/choir/drama (basically, all the Arts) festival that weekend in honor of Mr. Payne who would be retiring with in the next year. Students, band directors, teachers, choirs, and actors from all over the US had been invited, many politely declining but a few here and there paying their respects to the renowned Director by showing up for the few days.

Opening the door to the locker room, she pushed past several students; her eyes going every which way as she silently tried to find the directors and drop off the book so she could go on and find her friends fast…

*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*

"Hey, Olivia!!" yelled Randy when he spotted her across the room, running through everyone with his usual goofy grin plastered on his face as he tried to get to her side. "Wait up, will you?!"

She turned slightly, seeing him out of the corner of her eye with a slight smile. "Randy, what are you doing back?" she asked, slowing down enough to let him catch up with her before resuming her pace once more. His short, black hair and well-built frame complimented his kind, hazel eyes and easy smile. 

"I could ask the same for you," he joked, giving her a half-hug as he did. "We both graduated year before last June, remember?"

"I know, I know," she replied nudging him in the ribs with the same arm that held the book.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked, taking it from her and slipping away to a semi-blocked nook in the wall. She followed quickly, growling in mock anger as she tried to get it back from them. 

"Come on, lemme have it so I can give it to Payne before I find the others!" she said roughly, trying to get it from him as he held it over her head.

"I just wanna look at it!"

"Just for a second, then, alright?!"

"Promise." Randy smiled triumphantly and brought it back down, still held open with his finger as he balanced it on hand and turned the pages with the other. Its pages were gilt at the rim and the front title and tooled frame filled with the gold-substance as well. Its edges were covered with a thin, metal brace and the corners decorated with brass tips.

"Wow, were did you get this?" he asked, turning the pages as it revealed line after line of hand-written calligraphy, the ink a deep blue, green, red, or yellow by turns that seemed to grow even more splendid in the light.

"My mom wanted me to give it to Mr. Payne," explained Olivia quietly. "I never thought…wow…what's the title?"

Randy flipped it over, being sure to keep it open to the page he was looking at. "_The Circle of Magic & The Circle Opens: The collected works of Tamora Pierce_. Man, I would love to know where she got this…"

"I think many book collectors would," added Olivia breathlessly."

"Hey, Randy, Allie's looking for you!" said Bryanna, coming up beside them noiselessly as she got a good glimpse of the book. Her blue eyes narrowed as she recognized it somewhat. "Hey…where did you get that…??"

"Mom wanted me to give it to Payne," replied Olivia with a shrug. "You ever seen something like this before?"

"Yes," replied Bryanna, her pace quickening as it all began to come together in her mind. "Randy, for the love of God, don't close the book!"

"What?!" He stopped what he was doing, looking at her oddly. "Bry…are you alright?"

"Yeah, just don't close it," she replied. "I have to…go get someone. They've seen a book like this before too…"

"Who?" asked Olivia suspiciously. "Bryanna Reeves, what's going on?"

"I will explain everything if you promise not to close the book," replied Bryanna, backing up slowly so she could run for whoever it was the moment she got the promise that everything would be ok. "Olivia, this is serious…"

"I don't see why," said Randy, giving her an odd look as he started to close it, his hand still inside. "It's just a-"

"S'cuse me!" Bryanna felt herself vault forward as she was shoved from behind, running into Olivia who knocked Randy's hand out of the book, effectively helping the pages meet… *poof*

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Trystan stood beside Devan calmly, watching as he excitedly scanned the pages of his version of 'Happening in the last fifteen seconds: Summersea Edition' with interest. 

"Be careful with this group," she warned him cautiously, not wanting to do his job for him but knowing the kind of chaos he would be up against. "Several of these people and their actions can be very…upsetting at times."

"I will, I will," he muttered, back in his little kid form as he muttered a few words to send the Trio on their way before turning his back on his sister completely so he could set up his scrying mirrors.

"Devan!"

"Alright!! I promise I will be careful Trystan, ok??" He gave her an exasperated look, on that made him look all the more like the child form he was sporting even though he was trying to be serious. 

"Fine," she replied with a sigh. "I have to go, another group will be coming through soon and I have preparations to make…"

Devan stood up from his work. "As do I."

"Good luck." 

Both siblings vanished from sight in the blink of an eye, each to their own task and duty with a purpose.

*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*

Olivia, Randy, and Bryanna appeared in a niche in the wall at Lightbridge, one of the colleges for young and old mages alike to learn how to use their magical gifts. They were dressed in student garb, Bryanna and Olivia wearing a dark blue dress with a sleeveless, light blue-trimmed white- over tunic. Randy wore a dark blue shirt with leggings and a light blue tunic-trimmed white- as well. All of them had the same, star-shaped emblem embroidered just below their right shoulder, the mark of Lightbridge students with the white trim marking them as trainees.

"Where in the world are we?" asked Olivia quietly as she got her bearing, looking around herself in awe. "This…this place…holy cow…"

"I think the question is not 'where in the world', but 'where in the universe'," replied Bryanna quietly, glancing about as she tried to recognize where they were. Perhaps it had been the same book as before, she hadn't gotten a good enough look to really tell, though, before she had been pulled in… "What was the title of the book, Randy?"

"Uh…Circle of Magic…or something like that…" he replied, scratching his head after thinking about it for a moment. 

"Circle of Magic…" repeated Mouse, biting her lip for a second. If she remembered right, that meant they weren't in Tortall…which opened up a whole other can of worms for her to deal with… "Well, crap…"

"What's going on?!" demanded Randy, grabbing Bryanna's shoulder and spinning her around so he was facing him. She could see the fear in his eyes, no that she could blame him for she had been afraid the first time around as well.

"Look, I can explain things, but only if you'll give me time to before you jump all over me," replied Bryanna quickly, getting a nod from each of them before continuing quickly. "Ok, the book you were holding? It's sort of like a portal to another realm. And when you close it, it takes you there… There's only one way to get home, and really the only way to do that is to take the role you've been given until your path crosses over with others from your world. Some you'll know, some you won't, but eventually we do all meet…and then we come home."

"So, what, this is like a scavenger hunt for other people?" asked Sarah incredulously. "That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're having a bad drug trip and have somehow pulled us along with you…"

"And the question of the day," said Randy, running a hand through his hair as he processed it all. "What do we do now?"

"You go along with the plan I've given you, of course," said an old man who appeared beside them, his bent frame draped richly in the finest of robes with his thin, snow-white beard nearly touching the ground. 

"The plan _you_ have given us?" asked Olivia sarcastically. "And who the hell are you, old man?"

"I am the Sir Mage," he replied with a twinkle in his eye. "The mage who rules over all in this land, and keeps his eye on those who are brought to 'visit' his realm."

"Then you know Trystan," said Bryanna shrewdly. 

"I see you speak of my sister," he replied with a light laugh. "Let me say, youngling, your group came recommended by her! Now, as for the details of what you are to do…"

"Recommended?" cut in Randy. "What are you talking about??"

The old man sighed, obviously pressed for time. "I've been bored because I haven't had any amusement with my watch for quite some time. My sister spoke of the group who came over a year in your time before, and I jumped at the chance to have some fun for once. Apparently, your antics had her doubled over with laughter quite often…especially when you were forced to take in that little girl Kara…"

"Enough of that," cut in Bryanna, turning an interesting shade of pink. "What are we doing here this time, hm? None of us here have read the books…we have no one to 'guide' us like some did…"

"You are students here at Lightbridge," explained the mage quickly. "Ones that have just earned their title of Journeymen. That means you are now going to travel around and visit other mages to learn of your gift. Right now, the head master is about to send for you and give you everything you need before kicking you out for the next several years."

"Mind telling us what the gifts are ahead of time before we go?" asked Bryanna quietly, seeing a young girl draw near to them with a slip of paper in her hands.

"Healing, Ice, and Light," replied Sir Mage with a grin. "I will be keeping my eye on you all, younglings. Good luck." With that he disappeared, leaving them on their own to take whatever fate he had decided to hand them and do the best they could with it…

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The three of them were brought before a gentleman in his mid-forties or so, with a receding hairline and crow's feet around his eyes. Stooped over slightly from pouring over old, dusty volumes for so long, his countenance was one of great wisdom and even greater power as he beckoned them to sit as well.

"Come, come," he said, smiling slightly as he put on a pair of spectacles so he could read the profiles in front of him. "Bryanna…Olivia…and Randy…I take it you are the three who recently passed your Journeymen's tests?"

"Yes, sir," lied Bryanna, taking over for all three of them immediately.

"And your records show that you have spent enough time together that sending you as a group alone, since your mentor died this last month, would not be such an unwise a decision as it would first seem." Bryanna just nodded, keeping her eyes downcast, as she wasn't very sure on how to respond to this. "And your father, Olivia…he would take it well that you are traveling with commoners and not someone who is highborn?" 

"I, uh…I guess so…um, sir," she replied slowly, trying to act the part as felt herself tense up some. "He would have to be fine with it…wouldn't he?"

"Yes, he would," replied the Headmaster firmly. "It is good to know, though, that he might have given up some of his hatred for the common born. After all, there are so many more of us than you 'High folk'."

"I…suppose so…"

"As for you, Bryanna and Randy," he went on, shuffling around some papers some more. "As your parents were unable to provide for any more than your tuition as usual, we have agreed once again to give you grants based upon your performance here at the university and will continue to provide you with the travel-items you need as you go about visiting the many mages who you are to learn from." He pulled out a satchel from behind the desk. "Here is your map, instructions on how to get where and in what order, and thirty silver crescents to take care of your meals along the way."

"Thank you, sir," said Bryanna in surprise.

"Yeah, thanks," added Randy, bewildered into silence once more.

"Here are your new tunics, your olds ones have been replaced within your wardrobes as well," he said, handing them all the same light blue tunics as before but edged with a tan strip this time instead of the white. 

"Thank you, sir."

"Yes, thanks."

"Yeah, what they said."

"Good luck, then, young ones," he said, rising from his seat. They did the same, standing across the desk from him nervously. "Your things are packed, your mounts readied, all that is left is for you to go."

"Thank you, sir," said Olivia, bowing instinctively as the others followed her lead carefully. They were then shooed from the room, taken down to the main courtyard, and showed the mounts they were being given to ride for the next several months, and possibly years. Three fine mares stood there, each one exactly the right height for the person who was to ride them in three different colors. Bryanna's was the same light-brown with gold hairs interspersed through it just like old one, Olivia's was solid black with a single diamond of white on it's forehead, and Randy's was a red-brown with white stockings and a stripe down his nose.

"You be takin' good care a these three," said the holster as he helped Olivia mount, as she had never really ridden a horse before in her life. Randy managed somehow to get up without help, and Bryanna swung herself up as she remembered from the old days with the ease of long hours of practice. 

"We will," she promised with a slight grin, patting her mare on the neck gently. "Do they have names?"

"That'un you be on is Mouse," replied the holster lightly. "'Ers is Crystal, and 'is t'would be Flamedancer."

Bryanna rolled her eyes when she heard the name of her horse, but thanked him just the same. Stupid, son of a meecrob Mages and their freaking sense of humor…she would have to have a word with him about that next time she saw him. Whenever that might be…

"Let's go," she said, urging her mount towards the gate after consulting the map carefully and being sure that she knew where they were going. Some how or another the other two's horses just followed automatically, which was good or they might've never left at all. As much as Bryanna hated riding sidesaddle, there wasn't a whole lot she could do about it right then. Maybe she'd be able to trade it for a regular one latter on and get her hands on some leggings like Randy's…

"How long do you think it's going to take to reach this place?" asked Randy as he held onto his pommel awkwardly.

"A day or two," replied Mouse calmly over her shoulder. 

"A DAY or TWO??" replied Olivia, not liking riding on her horse already. The mare was beautiful, and was probably very nice to watch when she was galloping over and open field. But riding sidesaddle for the first time and very sure she couldn't keep it up much longer…a day or two sounded like an eternity!! "There is NO way…"

"We can stop in an hour or so, if you like," said Bryanna over her shoulder. "We should reach the next town by then…" She checked the map, finding her predictions to be correct. "And stop there for dinner and find an inn to sleep in for the night."

"Works for me," replied Randy with a shrug. "Let's do it."

*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*

Trystan and Grendal watched over their brother from the Lady Mage's tent in Tortall, sipping glasses of wine while Trystan kept on eye on her lil bro and one on the scrying bowl before her that held the image of her newest arrivals in Tortall.

"He is doing fairly well on his own, you know," said Grendal, touching the brim of her cowboy hat lightly before taking another sip of the wine her sister had given her.  Probably a '34 or so…her mind wandered over her favorite vintages before snapping back to the present. "I think it would be best if we just left him alone…"

"Alone, but not unwatched," replied Trystan with a nod. "He is young and arrogant…as well as out of practice. I will not interfere unless I see fit."

"Which will be everything five minutes," replied Grendal, shaking her head with a grin. She said a few words, spelling the bowl Trystan was scrying in. "You can't go see him unless it's an emergency, ok?"

Trystan smiled slightly. "What defines an emergency?"

"A life has to be on the line," replied Grendal shortly, scratching her nose. "Or our 'cause' be in jeopardy before you can do anything."

"Alright," replied Trystan with a nod. "I will be good unless I see that happening, ok?"

"Good. I have to go," said Grendal with an approving look. "Someone's calling me, probably Tammy. I'll talk to you later, sis."

"Ok, Grendal. Bye."

"Bye."

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Bryanna pulled up in front of the inn where they would stay for the night, her rear sore from hours of riding all day and her stomach growling for some decent food. Breakfast had been biscuits and some butter on the run with a skin of water apiece and lunch some old bread and cheese they'd bought from a woman along the road. Dinner the night before hadn't been much better, having gotten the dregs from the caldron of soup and mugs of stale ale. Not that they could really complain, food was food, but it would be nice to have some hot soup and fresh bread for once with perhaps a hot scone or pie to go with it. 

"Here," she said, handing the stable boy a few coppers. "Get them watered and fed proper, as well as a rubdown for these poor beasts. Make sure it's done right, because I will check later on them…"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied quickly, the coins disappearing into his pocket  before he took the reins from them with ease. "Your bags will be taken up for you, ma'am."

"Good." 

"This had better not be what I have to look forward to for the next couple of years," sighed Olivia as she stretched out her back. "Or there will be hell to pay."

"Oh, stop it," sighed Bryanna. "It's not that bad, you know. In a few days, you'll be back to normal…not that your mood will improve much but still…"

"What was that?!" Olivia stared the smaller girl down. "Don't you ever-"

"Let's go get something to eat," cut in Randy, putting an arm around them both and leading them to the main room. "Smells pretty go to me, whatever it is they're serving tonight. Olivia muttered something under her breath about long, slow deaths by fire; but other than that made no attempt to resist him and sat down at the table to have a quick meal.

Each of them fell to their own musings as they supped on the vegetable soup and side of chicken the place had to offer. Once the plates had been practically licked clean, and the mugs of cider tipped up to catch every last drop, the three of them set off from it to find their first master Mage. Bryanna lead the way as she had the map, easily reading it's lines and symbols as she'd had to do back in Tortall. 

Their search lead them to a small building near the edge of town, no sign out front to designate who it might belong to other than a small star over the door. They looked at each other and entered carefully, putting their heads in the door and glancing about the apparently empty shop. Rows and rows of shelves filled with crystals, powders, and other mage-goods. 

"Hello??" asked Randy hesitantly.

"Someone there?" asked a brisk voice from the back, each person turning their eyes to see a small, old man walking towards them with a kind, stern look on his face. "What do you younglings want, now?"

"Are you Master Tomlin?" asked Bryanna, stepping into the shop entirely so her Lightbridge emblem could be seen. 

"Yes, I am," he replied, noting the emblem with a nod. "Come along, then, younglings. I have you for a week of training before you're going on to the next of your teachers." He turned and walked away from them, going towards the back of the shop once more.

Bryanna shrugged to the other two and followed, them close on her heels a moment later.

"Have a seat, have a seat," he said, motioning to five mats laid in a circle. Once they were ready and situated, he drew a circle around them all with a crystal that made a glowing line on the floor. "We'll be ready to go here in a second…"

"May I ask, Master Mage, what you are doing?" asked Randy, watching dubiously as the mage completely the circle and stepped inside. A bubble formed around them, cutting them off from the rest of the world. 

"A ward, of course, boy," he snapped with a grin. "I'm taking you back to the very basics of training, as I always do with Journeymen who have just gotten their browns. We will start with meditation and end right before dark tonight with simple gift calling."

"Works for us," said Olivia with a slight grin, glad she was actually be going to taught everything instead of learning on the fly as Bryanna had described for them a few nights before.

"Get comfortable," the mage ordered. "Clear your mind of all thoughts. Everything…and breath with me…" They breathed in to the count of 7, held it, and breathed back out. "Good…now again…" They continued on like this for several minutes, eventually getting to the point where it was just habit and they no longer had to count to know how long they had to hold their breath or breath in or out.

"Now, look inside yourselves…" ordered the mage. "See your magic…your power…draw it inside yourself as you might draw in the air you breath. Let it fill you up…but don't let it spill out."

Bryanna saw hers as a soft blue, the glowing magic slipping around her like water as she began to draw it inside herself. It filled her form perfectly, keeping constant control over it as it tried to escape her firm grasp.

"Good! Now…draw it in even more into a small form that you alone can see…and identify with. It matters not what it is, as long as it is something you know…"

Sarah saw her power as a white laced with bits of blue and purple, some of it escaping her grasp as she attempted to draw it into the shape of an ice crystal. She had most of it in hand…almost all of it…but she couldn't manage more than that.

Randy grappled with his as well, trying to form it into the shape of a small sun. Still, his control was not that of Olivia's or Bryanna's as he sighed in frustration at his incompetence.

"Stop," said the mage, shaking his head as he rose to his feet. "We have more to go over than I thought. You there, youngling."

Bryanna started slightly. "Uh…yes, sir?"

"Go take a walk, or something. This is mere review for you, I can see. As for these two…we have work to do."

"Yes, sir." She rose to her feet, bowing to him before glancing at the other two and heading out the door. Tomlin re-raised the barriers he had dropped to let her out and concentrated on the other two, bidding them to go over the exercises once again.

*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*

Bryanna wandered along the streets of the small town, occasionally stopping to admire some pretty bauble at a stall but knew she could not afford to buy anything at the prices theses people were selling them for. 

Some kids ran along the streets as well, some of them obviously from the poorer part of town with their rags that were more holes than cloth and dirt-stained faces from never getting a good wash.

"'Ey, you," said one of these urchins, coming up and tugging on her dress lightly.

"Yes?" she asked, curious as to what this young one had to say. 

"Be you a mage?" the young one inquired, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Of sorts," she replied, bending down slightly so she could look him in the eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"Muh sis…" he said slowly. "She be very 'urted, miss. Be it you can 'elp 'er?" He regarded her carefully, his mouth set in a line.

Bryanna mused to herself lightly over the turn of events. Healers couldn't be that common around these parts…but they still should have one within the town. "Isn't there an adult or mommy or daddy who could help?" she asked hesitantly.

The boy shook his head. "Only one is old Betta, she ain't to nice to us younglings, neither."

"Then I will help you," conceded Bryanna with a shrug. "Where's your sister now?"

"Over 'ere, miss." He lead her to behind a building, the young girl sitting with her back against the wall, pale with the pain that was surely washing over her as Bryanna noted the way her wrist was turned.

"How did this happen?" asked Bryanna in concern, kneeling beside the younger girl and probing the crushed bones instinctively.

"One of the older boys," was all the brother would say, setting his face in a hard look. Bryanna just nodded and went to mending the bones as best she could, some how knowing by feel exactly what to do as she worked to restore and strengthen the muscles around it as well.

By the time she was done it was almost dark and Bryanna was nearly exhausted from her work. Rocking back on her heels, she inspected the wrist from the outside with her hands. It was whole again, totally and completely whole. 

"There," she said, rising to her feet slowly. "Run along home, now. Before you get in trouble."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied quietly, quickly running away with his sibling as they looked over their shoulder at her from time to time in awe.

Bryanna allowed herself to rest for a moment before drudging back to the inn, finding their room empty and without even bothering to change flung herself into a deep sleep from which her tired body felt it might never awake. That's how the other two found her when they arrived later that night. Though Olivia really didn't care what had happened to her, she helped Randy take off her boots just the same and get her under the covers at least. 

Both of them went to bed soon after, extremely tired themselves and ready for the soft mattress that awaited them. 

*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*~~~@~~~*

*Sighs* And that, my friends, is the first chapter of Summersea Saga. Tell me what you thing, how much you like/love/are in need of/ dislike/hate/despise/wish to kill it. (Please, only choose one!!! 0.0) 

Anyways, on a lighter note, there is something I must now take care of real fast…

1) &~~~#~~~&~~~#~~~&~~~#~~~&~~~#~~~&~~~#~~~&~~~#~~~&

2) %~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

3) ^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^O^

4) ~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Please vote on a new border because I've kinda gotten bored with the old once that always went between the sections. You know, having done it for 33 chapters straight with sometimes 34 breaks in a chapter…you get the idea. Anyways, let me know in your review what you would like to have!

Thank you!

~Crosseyedbutterfly~


	2. 

Hello my friends!! 'Tis time for chapter 2 of Summer Sea Saga, the most wonderful sequel to Twisted Tortallian Tale. Much thanks to those of you wonderful enough to review, and shame on you too lazy to!! REVIEW!! *pouncestab* : P I had more of you vote for the fourth one, so we'll use that one for awhile and switch it up later on. Thanks ^_^

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she stumbled into the shop, straightening her clothes absently as she tried to put on the appearance of being somewhat awake. Master Tomlin chuckled to himself when he saw her, pulling a pot of coffee off the fire and pouring them both a mug.

"Not a morning person, are we?" he asked his temporary student, handing the mug to her as she muttered something under her breath. "Ah, well, take a moment to adjust yourself to the land of the living before joining me over here once again. We have much to learn today!"

Olivia shrugged and sipped the coffee, surprised at how fast it awakened her senses and lifted the heaviness of sleep from her eyes. Rising her to feet after placing the emptied mug back on the counter, she stretched and sat on a mat across from him, the ward back in place as it had been the night before as they began to meditate.

"Now," he said as she reached the state of perfect control once more. "Send a tendril of your power out…no more than that! Reach for my hand…tell me what I have there."

"Left or right?" asked Olivia with a slight smirk.

"Either will do…"

Olivia nodded and concentrated as she sent out the barest thread of her power, letting it entwine itself around the object and seek it in a way to identify what it was… "It is ice," she said slowly. "Regular, normal ice."

"And my other hand?" asked the mage quietly, continuing to breath in the constructed pattern of the night before. 

Olivia searched that one as well. "Ice…but not the same kind of ice as before…it almost seems to glow…" She broke her connection with it and opened her eyes, holding out a hand in a silent demand to be shown the object. 

He handed her bother lumps of ice obligingly, letting her examine the both until she realized she would not be able to figure out the difference on her own. "What's wrong with this one?" she asked, holding out the piece that she held in her right hand.

"That one," replied Master Tomlin with a grin. "Is Mage's Ice. Easy enough to make, I shall teach you its recipe in a moment if you wish to learn it."

"Is that why it won't melt, yet stays so cold?" asked Olivia in surprise. 

"Yes," replied the mage with a nod. "You can also draw the cold out of it into yourself…and it still will not melt no matter what."

"This must be pretty popular, then," said Olivia in surprise. Master Tomlin shrugged, his lips twitching into a slight smile. 

"It is not something every mage can make," he said slowly with a shrug. "Ice mages are few and far between…especially this far south. Normally you can find them much farther to the north, so ditties like this we do not get very often."

"Then to make a piece like this, and sell it…it would be a rarity that would be worth a lot, wouldn't it?" asked Olivia.

"It would," admitted the mage with a shrug. "However, first we will start with how to use it. Go back to your meditation, and place your hand over it…" They fell back into the rhythm of breathing, each finding their center again before the mage began to give her another set of instructions. "Imagine the ice in your mind. Can you see it's cold? It's core?"

"I can," whispered Olivia, the ice shining blue in her mind's eye. "It is constant, evenly dispersed through the whole…"

"Now, draw it out slowly into your hand…slower…slower…good. Open your eyes slowly, and look at your hand." The mages voice never reached above a whisper, watching her with interest as she studied her right hand against her left; one which held the ice and the other the cold.

"It's solid," she whispered slowly. "But not cold…almost warm, in some way…and this hand…"

"It's cold, but not umbarumbly so, right?" asked the mage with a please smile lighting his face.

"Barely even cool, yet I can feel the cold on my bones. Not that it bothers me in the least…" Olivia studied her hands for a few more minutes, then with a look of puzzlement on her face, touched her face with it and realized she couldn't tell the difference against her own skin. 

"Now, for what you can do with the cold," said the mage, setting a bowl of water before her. "Close your eyes and meditate, and once you have found your center place the cold within the water before you…" He watched carefully as she obeyed, easily turning the water to ice with the cold. "Excellent. You may open your eyes."

Olivia did, sitting back slightly with dizziness. "Why is the room moving, Master Tomlin?"

"You expended more energy than you needed to," explained the Master mage with a shrug. "Come now, try it again." He set more mage ice and a bowl of water before her. "We'll do it until you can get it right with the minimal amount of power. Now, mediate!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Randy sighed as he dressed himself in his leggings and loose shirt, pulling the tunic over his head before running a comb through his hair. Wide-awake and still apprehensive with the last few days' occurrences, he wasn't sure what to think of the mage who'd become their mentor. 

He slowly walked down the dim hall, down the stairs and into the main room before. Spotting Bryanna in a corner out of the way, he grabbed a bowl of the inn's porridge before heading to her table at a quick pace.

"Morning," he said with a slight grin, sitting across from her and setting the bowl before himself. Honey and cream was added to it, and a mug of ale brought to him by a serving girl who wandered the room with a pitcher in her hand. "You sleep well last night?"

"Somewhat," replied Bryanna, smiling as she sipped her coffee. "What time did you guys get back last night? I don't remember seeing you come in…"

"You were out cold," he replied with a shrug. Smiling, he added, "Whatever you did while we weren't there, it must've been pretty intense."

"I guess so," she laughed shortly. "I was weak as water when I woke up, though a few mugs of this stuff and some food and I was fine again. What're you doing for the day?"

"I have to be back at the place soon," replied Randy with a shrug. "More training stuff, I guess. Olivia's there now, and should be back soon. She was up and dawn and got down there for her stuff."

"So that's who it was."

"Yep." They bantered some more for a while, comfortable with the other's presence but not as anything more than warm acquaintances. Randy asked about the 'time before' for a while, and Bryanna indulged him up to a certain point before reminding him of his training that morning. 

Randy arrived at the mage's shop as Olivia stumbled out the door; a tired, worn look on her face as he stepped aside to let her through. "You all right, Olivia?" he asked as he tried to steady her faltering steps. 

"Lemme alone, Randy," she snapped, heading back for the Inn as he watched silently from behind. Sighing, he went inside and greeted the Master Mage with a nod of his head. 

"Welcome, youngling," said Master Tomlin, spreading a few mirrors around on one table and some bowls with water set up on another. "We have a rigorous schedule set for you today!"

"What am I learning, Master Tomlin?" asked Randy, respectfully, taking a seat across from the old man.

"Scrying, my boy," he replied with a grin. "You will not be able to do much, nor to any great distance, but perhaps with the help of the other two you could improve your power even more."

Randy looked at the mirrors and bowls in confusion. "Sir…??"

"I take it you've never heard of scrying before?" asked Master Tomlin, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly. 

"Well…uh…no, Sir," admitted Randy, looking a little embarrassed at this question. "Should I know what it is?"

"It is a basic technique every mage should know," promptly replied Master Tomlin. "Come, lad. Over here, on the mats again." They sat cross-legged on the floor and the mage set a bowl between them, filling it with just enough water to almost reach the brim. "Now, concentrate as you did the day before…fall into the breathing pattern once again…"

Randy did as he was told, easily bringing himself to his 'center' and waiting for his next set of instructions. "Now," said the master mage, his voice no more than a slight murmur. "Can you feel the three symbols I am drawing in the air?" 

Randy stretched out his awareness, touching the man's hands with his power so he could 'see' and feel what he was doing. "Yes," he replied after making sure he had them right. 

"Do them, only make them glow in your eyes with a burst of your magic."

"Ok…" 

Randy slowly traced the symbols in the air, making them shine with a burst of his power. The water's glassy surface burst alive with many pictures and figures, showing him scenes from all around the town. Yelping in surprise, he jumped back and to his feet, the water evaporating the second he broke his concentration on the spell. 

"Well done, Randy," said the mage with a grin. "Scare you, did it?"

"It did," he replied shakily. "That…are those….were those pictures real??" he asked carefully.

"They were," replied the mage, nodding his head sagely. "Pictures of the present, that is. Your gift concentrates more with light, so I shall teach you to make light crystals and some light illusions soon, but scrying for the _present _is something all mages can do."

"What do you mean, 'the present'?" asked Randy suspiciously, taking his seat once more. 

"What you saw is happening right now," replied Master Tomlin carefully. "In the present. There are Past and Future scrying techniques as well, but you cannot learn them for your gift does not lie there."

"So, what I saw happening was happening as I saw it," said Randy as he tried to comprehend what was going on. "Like…snatches of lives all over this city."

"Snatches of lives within a five mile radius or so," corrected Master Tomlin gravely. "Do not use this spell lightly, Randy, to spy on others. That is breaking the mage's codes. That, and it drains you horribly. However, for now you must try again and see if you can get a clearer picture this time…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna stuck her head in the shop around noon, silently slipping in when she didn't see anybody nearby. She crept in a few feet, glancing about nervously as she listened for any sounds of approaching footsteps. 

"There are you." 

"AHH!!"

Bryanna stood there panting as she looked at Master Tomlin, who had managed to sneak up behind her somehow with a small smile on his face. "Nice to see you too, youngling," he said softly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly upwards as she blushed from having cried out like that. "I…uh…didn't see you…that is…"

"Relax," said the Master Mage, turning away from her to gather a few materials from the table in front of him. "I'm not going to bite your head off for not seeing me there. You are a mage, not a warrior."

She smoothed her tunic self-consciously, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear before nodding to him politely. "What am I learning today, Master Mage?"

"To heal, of course," he said with a shrug. "It is all you can do, youngling. Unlike your other friends, who have many aspects of their gifts to learn, yours only has one. Then again, then are many types of healing and different ways to heal each wound that can be inflicted upon the mortal soul and spirit. Still, it is far more easy in some aspects compared to what they have to learn…"

Bryana blinked. "Heal the spirit, sir? Such things can be done?!"

"Of course," he scoffed with a twinkle in his eye. "But such mages are hard to find, and I know already your abilities do not reach to that range so we shall not worry about it for the moment. Now, we shall start with meditating..."

"How, sir?"

"Hm?" The mage gave her an odd look, already sitting with his legs crossed on the floor. "How what?"

"How do you know?" repeated Bryanna. "What is your magic relate to anyways, Master Mage? It seems you can work any kind at times…"

"It is a rare sort of gift," explained the mage with another shrug of the shoulders. "I can affect, explain, name, and show how many magics work, yet I cannot work them myself as the main…um…power source, if you will. I must work through another source…an outlet. It is difficult to explain…"

"Whatever," said Bryanna, her mind reeling as she tried to grasp what he'd just said. "Meditating. I understand that, so let's stick with it…"

"Fine by me. Now, breath…."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Randy, Olivia, and Bryanna sat with cushions on the floor of their room, sprawled around the pot that had held their dinner with empty bowls lying about and mugs half-full of ale waiting to be finished. Olivia lethargically pushed her hair out of her eyes and stared at the fire, so tired she didn't even want to move and contemplated spending the night right where she was on the floor. 

"Are you sure?" asked Randy, moaning in pain as he stretched out his back slowly. "My gosh, your not even expending that much physical energy and you still feel like you've been hit with a ten ton bulldozer!!"

"Hey, I told you, things were easier there," snapped Bryanna. Sighing, she propped herself on her elbow so she could see him better. "We had our gifts as the three of us do now, we just knew how to use them without training…besides, each of us could only do one thing. Mine: to seduce guys by singing. Allie: to seduce guys with her…"lady-like charms". Vixen: to steal everything and anything in sight without getting caught."

"Now it gets more complicated, I suppose," growled Olivia, narrowing her eyes as she looked into the flames. "New rules…things you can and cannot do…plus this whole 'forced trip' where we HAVE to follow the map. I'd rather like to run off and just do whatever I wanted to right about now…"

"You can't," said Bryanna with a shrug. "Our money, our identities…everything relies on us staying with the map."

"I have officially decided that I do not like whoever it was that sent us here, and will beat him with a stick like they do in Jamaica the moment I find out who it is!" said Randy vehemently, downing the rest of his ale before hauling himself to his feet with the aid of the table. "Well, goodnight, Ladies. Too much to do tomorrow to be hanging around here for long…"

"Goodnight," said Bryanna, nodding in his direction before rising to her feet and heading towards her bed. 

"Yeah, night," added Olivia, waving over her head and remaining on the floor. 

"Are you planning on sleeping down there tonight?" asked Bryanna, climbing into her bed.

"And if I am?" groused Olivia. She sighed drowsily, knowing she wouldn't make it at all if she didn't move now and deciding in the same instant that it wasn't worth it to do so. "What's it matter to you, Bry?"

"Here's your blanket," said Bryanna, rolling her eyes as she tossed at that figure on the floor.

"Did I ask for your help?!"

Bryanna sighed, snuggling down under the covers to sleep. "No, fine, I'll leave you alone…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna woke early in the morning two weeks later, throwing her bed covers aside and pulling on her dress and tunic as fast as she could. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Bryanna poured herself a mug of coffee from the pot that waited for them on the table before starting to throw her things in her bag as fast as she could. Shirts, tunics, underclothes, her sandals since she would wear her boots for riding and putting her lighter cape aside because it was supposed to get a tad chilly later that night if they stayed out riding that long…

"What are you doing?!" demanded a half-awake Olivia from her bed as she squinted in the morning light. Her mussed, dark curls lay every which way as she pushed them from her eyes so she could see. "It's just past dawn, Bry, we don't have lessons until noon…"

"This isn't another lesson day," Bryanna reminded her in exasperation. Her collection of healing medicines and herbs went into a separate bag all their own. "Does the day we're getting our seal and moving on ring a bell? You know, like a mini-graduation?"

Olivia considered the question for half a second. "Nope, now pipe down so I can get back to sleep."

"Olivia…we're supposed to be packed and there in a few minutes…!"

"Like I care," muttered the young woman, glaring at Bryanna through partially closed eyes. "Lemme get some more sleep, already!! That old dude… Master Tommy or whatever his name is…he can wait until I'm coherent."

"No!! We have to get going-"

"Good morning!!" cried Randy, bursting in the door with his bags packed behind him looking as happy as a lark singing it's early morning song. "Are we ready to go, my beautiful ladies??" He looked at them in confusion as they just stared at him for a moment.  "…um, guys??" Randy grew very, very nervous as two sets of angry, vengeful looking eyes latched on to him with no sign of letting go anytime soon. "Um…uh…did I do something…?? Ahh!!"

Randy ducked and ran for cover as a barrage of pillows came flying at him through the doorway. Two raging young women followed moments after, practically foaming at the mouth with anger. "Wahh!!!"

*smash* *bonk* 

"Ahh!!"

*wham* 

"Stop it!!"

*splat* 

"Don't make me hurt you!!" *smack* *boom* 

"That's it…"

*thwap* 

"Hey!!"

*thump*

"Oi…"

Let's just say it was not a very pretty picture indeed.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

The trio finally reached their teacher's shop about an hour later; with their things packed, their mounts saddled and loaded, they were ready to go. Master Tomlin observed their ragged appearance with a raised eyebrow. Randy sported a black eye, and Olivia a swollen lip. Bryanna bore no markings at all, but she did have a pink spot under one eye that would be the remains of a bruise she'd obviously healed very recently. She'd most likely taken care of herself, then refused to heal the others, whatever it was that had gotten to them. 

"You're late," he said lightly, taking the parchment from Bryanna as he heated the wax that he would place his seal in. 

"We had some…issues on the way here," said Olivia slowly, grimacing as her lip moved.

"We had issues before some of us even got out of bed," added Bryanna under her breath, pretending she didn't see Olivia's glare. 

"I would not suggest that you be late for your other teachers," went on Master Tomlin as if he hadn't heard what they'd said. "They may not be so lenient." He picked up the wax holder and dribbled some onto the parchment, letting it cool for a second before pressing his seal into it while it was still warm. "There."

"Thank, Master," said Randy, bowing to him as he accepted the parchment, carefully folded so the seal wouldn't break, back and handed it to Bryanna. "You have been very patient with us."

"As was the intention, for you are green Journeymen." He smiled slightly. "Though, hopefully, through your experiences here you will not be quite so green…in fact, that eye of yours is turning a rather lovely purple…"

Randy ducked his head in embarrassment. "Uh…yeah…"

"I won't ask how it happened," said the mage, looking at the girls as well. "For ANY of you. Just ice that eye and lip when you stop for lunch and make sure you don't talk much, Olivia. It will help it heal."

"Yes, sir, Master Tomlin," she replied with a wry smile. 

"Now get going!" he said, flapping his hands at them as if he were shooing geese. "Get alone, now! You have many miles to travel before nightfall…"

"Yes, sir," said Bryanna, mounting her horse as the other two followed. They'd had enough free time that Bryanna had given them both a rudimentary course in riding that consisted mainly of going at different speeds while learning not to fall off. "Bye!"

"Goodbye, younglings, and take care!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Devan sighed happily, leaning back in his child form as he drank apple juice with a straw. His emerald green eyes matched his green robes of a merchant's son perfectly, making him look even younger than before.

"You know," observed Grendal from her seat in the corner. "This has been provided quite a bit of amusement for you, hasn't it?"

"I haven't seen a good tumble like that between friends since…well…forever!!" he laughed, pouring himself more juice to drink. "Good lord, she smacked him over the head with a pillow full of shoes!! And the other, the blonde…she really packs a punch when she wants too! That and those fangs of hers…this is great!!"

"Who's your next group?" asked Grendal lightly. "You must have one coming up soon…"

"Of course I do," replied Devan happily, "Just give me half a second…" He went into a trance, checking up with his book. "Hm…crap." He opened his eyes, rubbing them for a moment before growling slightly. "I'm not waiting that long, I can tell you that much!!"

"What?!" Grendal gave her little brother an odd look as he hurried over to his shelves of supplies, pulling off a couple of bottles and a knife before returning to the table with a determined look on his face. "Devan, what are you…"

"Just lemme alone a sec, alright??"

"Ok, ok…"

He poured some of the liquid from the bottles on the table, patterning them around each other before picking up the knife and pricking both of his palms so a drop of blood would slide down them. Clapping them together over his head, he chanted loudly as the room began to waver slightly.

"Happy now?" asked Grendal, recognizing the time spell for what it was. "How far forward did you put them??"

"Roughly six months, their time. The next group will come in sometime this next month…" said Devan, wavering slightly as he slumped back into his chair. He revived quickly, his power returning to him within seconds as he watched through his scrying crystal as the three student mages went about with the lives they had been living for the past six months.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Mouse sat towards the southern end of the Pebble Sea on the beach in Sotat, the Stepping Stones Islands within her view as the waves pounded the shore below. They had traveled on from Master Tomlin's to the Pajun Island south of Eemelan, then onto Nidra Island that was across from Hajra in Sotat, and now here. 

They had had a few teachers along the, the first one a young woman named Talia who had just earned her mage credentials a year before. She'd been a trip and a half, more often teaching them how not to do things than how they actually worked. She must've blown herself up four times while they were there, and continued to create holes in her workshop from the explosions everyday. That was just the life of a mage who specialized in mage item's chemical reactions, though…

The next had been and older fellow, rather strict and stern at night but rather trippy if you caught him while he was on the drink. Not that he had a problem, oh no, rather, the ale had a problem with him! His gift lay within the brewing of any type of alcohol. However, he could only drink it in it's purest of forms…therefore, often rendering him rather drunk at night and with a monstrous hangover in the morning. Bryanna's gift had come in handy there, taking away the headache and clearing her mind so she could 'teach' them the many uses and brewing of wine, beer, and ale in the morning hours. Randy had used his gift to show the clarity of the wines with a strong light and Olivia re-chilled all the barrels so they would keep the drink inside cool without putting them down in a cellar. 

As for their present teacher, well, he wasn't really a teacher at all. He was a noble, one of 'old blood' with 'old money' who liked to throw a couple of parties a week for his other noble friends. They'd have Lightsbridge send them new mages for a week or two at a time and learn the art of entertainment with their gifts. That, or some other use they might have around there. 

All of them had grown greatly within their abilities, herself now able to heal almost any type of wound and several other illnesses. Though it left her exhausted for days afterward, she could even reconnect limbs that had been sliced off. 

Olivia had pretty much mastered her control over ice. Not that there had been a lot for her to learn, though, not until they found a teacher who had the same gift as she would she learn some of the more difficult aspects of her power. Until then, however, she was more than content to work with what she had. 

Randy was struggling with the mastery of his power, his lights often…odd looking compared to normal ones. He could do some light illusions, though, now and enjoyed playing with them at night when they shone clearly against the sky.

Life was good, their teacher's weren't hard, and they could sleep late if they wanted most days. 

What had they to complain about?

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia bit her lip as she skillfully sculpted the ice with her power, ignoring the awed nobles behind her as she carefully shaped the wing of the hawk she was creating. Wicked talons gleamed in the mages lights that hung about the room, it's fierce beak sparkling at the tip. It's eyes seemed to glow, pulsating with a light Randy had put in them on a whim. 

"That had better not melt it," said Olivia distractedly, concentrating on the sculpture far more than she was on he.

"It won't," he promised, putting more of his power back into a light that had gone dim at the request of their host. "It's can't remember? You're using mage ice…" The lamp flared and showed a bright, steady light like its mates once more.

"Oh yeah…"

"Are you ready to start in the main hall?" asked a richly dressed noble, obviously the head of the house. 

"Of course, sir," said Randy, putting the globe back in it's place and bowing respectfully. "Lead the way, my lord."

"Good."

"Excuse me, but could you tell me where I would find my other partner?" asked Olivia, finished with her project and snagging a servant as she went by. The woman nodded, leading her up the staircase and into one of the side rooms. Olivia stuck her head in to see Bryanna seated beside one of their host's children, a youngling who had a horrible fever and was covered in red spots. Bryanna had said it was not contagious, but she would not be able to leave until the girl was able to be cared for by the servants once again. Not that she was complaining, that meant all the more time at the fief with servants to answer to their every whim. 

"Mistress," said one of the servants, bowing to her slightly as he stopped before her in the hall. "The Lord of the house requests your presence in the greeting hall. Some of his guests wish to meet the mage who created the sculpture outside his door."

"I'll be down in a second," said Olivia, closing the room's door and heading down the stairs quickly. She was surrounded by several nobles moments later, each one vying for her attention to explain the phenomena before them. 

"How is this made??"

"And what is it made of?! I have never seen anything like it…ice that doesn't melt…!"

"Well, it isn't really ice…"

"I'll say it's not! I put a flame to it and it did nothing more than smoke a bit! Couldn't melt or catch it with fire at all from the match I was holding. If that's ice, I'm a Commoner."

"It has ice in it…"

"See, I told you so, Fenal!"

"That's Duke Fenal to you, youngling."

"Enough, enough," said host, hushing them all with a wave of his hand. "Come, Mistress Olivia. Explain this wonder to the good ladies and gentlemen so they can get on with their evening satisfied."

Olivia sighed. It was going to be a long night…

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Randy rolled up his sleeves, making a big show of getting ready as the little children gathered around him noisily. He laughed at them and began to move his hands slowly, making the signs he'd been taught to the beat of his heart. 

They backed up to a respectful distance as his hands began to glow, lights appearing above him that moved in patterns and exploded in showers of light that disappeared as they hit the ground. Red, green, blue, purple, and all the shades in between. Their eyes glittered in excitement, screaming and shouting with glee as they began to take the form of butterflies and dragonflies, twirling around overhead, always just out of reach.

"Make a big dragon, Mista!!" cried one of the younger ones, his eyes full of awe at the 'powers' displayed before him. "Make a big 'un! Please??"

Randy nodded, a mischievous look in his eyes. The light he'd been playing with collected over his head, forming into the giant beast the little one had requested. It beat it's wings, rising high into the night sky until it could no longer be seen and melded into the stars themselves that twinkled merrily above. 

"Well done, Master Randy!!" said the host, clapping him on the back heartily. "Come, you must be tired and I have some guests I want you to meet. What do you say, children?"

"Thank you, Mista Randy!" they said at once, all giving him bright smiles with their eyes a-glow with wonder. 

"Will you be back later??" asked the little boy who'd requested he make a dragon. "Make 'nother big 'un for us?"

"If I can," promised Randy, waving over his shoulder as he was led away to see the other more 'important' guests he was going to be introduced to. "Later, little guy."

"Bye, dragon man!!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Another day, another chapter. I'll put up another voting-for-border deal in the next couple chapters, maybe number 4 or 5. Please review, I love you guys for it!! ^_^ Can't wait to hear from you and your ideas about the story. 

Anyways, there's something I need to clear up. Mouse = Bryanna. It's her nickname, and the one we used in the first story, but I have problems sometimes calling her by the real one.. ^_^;; Quite horrible about it at times, really. 

Another things: Olivia's real name is Sarah. But it's not the same Sarah as in the first one, so if it SAYS Sarah, it means Olivia. Thank you! (I'm allowed to have my…issues too… ^_^;;)

Love and Peace! Ducks and Geese! 

~Crosseyedbutterfly~


	3. 

*Hugs* Hello all my dear, dear friends!! Today is the start of my spring break, there for I am in one EXCELLENT mood right about now. Sleep…sleep…and more sleep….yes!! ^_^ 

As for some questions from last time's reviews: Yes, in the time spell roughly six months passed. It was August when it started, early March when it ended if that helps any. Also, there will be many spoilers for the Circle of Magic series (sorry for no mentioning that earlier!!) up until Shatter Glass. If have not read them and wish to before you get the spoilers from here, I suggest you do so now because we're not that far from getting into Sandry's book. If you don't care, then don't worry because it won't be a requirement just a helpful thing this time around.

Anywho, go on and enjoy!

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad," said Brenna teasingly, tucking one of her loose curls behind her ear. Sparkling brown eyes laughed at her friend who unlocked the uniform door with a twist before tossing the keys back at the drum major. 

"You get to go away to college," retorted Amanda, tossing her dark brown hair over her shoulder to keep it out of her eyes. "I'm stuck here for another year, going to CP to take care of my freshman requirements."

"Hey, you don't want to get rid of us that much, do you??" asked the young boy beside her, latching his hands about her waist automatically.

"Not you, Ben," she said teasingly, rubbing his head affectionately. "Never you. But you know I can only take the rest of them at home so much…"

"I'm just lucky then," he said, giving her waist a squeeze before darting into the small room to help her clean up.

"Lucky," said Brenna with a wry grin. "I wish I had a little brother like that, I'd put him on a leash and take him everywhere with me just so everyone can see how cute he is!"

"He wouldn't follow you 'cuz he'd be scared that your hair would eat him," replied Ben, looking out just enough to stick his tongue out at her before ducking back inside once more.

"My hair is not going to eat you!!" retorted Brenna, taking it down and showing the masses of curls to him in frustration. "See?! They're not alive!! Well…they are…but not in the sense that…you know what I mean!!"

Ben gave her a dubious look. "I think you're lying, and it's not nice to lie. I think your hair eats little boys who get too close to it."

"Oh really?" asked Brenna, giving Amanda a glare as she tried not to burst out laughing. "And who told you that?"

"I thought it up all on my own!" said Ben proudly, smiling brightly but still keeping his distance. 

"I didn't do it!" said Amanda, holding up her hands as she moved to put the cart between her and Brenna. "I swear, it was not me…"

"Uh huh." Brenna crossed her arms. "Do I look like I have killer hair to you?!" She saw the mischievous look Amanda was harboring and shook her head. "Never mind, don't answer that…"

"I was wondering if you were going to leave it at that…"

"Hey, did I miss anything?" asked Lyssa, walking in as she ran a hand through her shoulder-length hair. 

"Nope, not yet," replied Amanda with a grin, motioning to let her in before closing the half-door so Brenna couldn't enter. "Uh-uh, you know the rules Brenna."

"Oh, come on," said Brenna, giving her puppy eyes and sticking out her bottom lip in a pout. "Just this once…please??"

"Nope," said Lyssa, sticking her tongue out at her as well as Ben came and gave the girl a quick hug. "Hey, Ben."

"Hi Lyssa."

"Oh, so she gets a hug and I don't!" fumed Brenna, throwing her hands up in the air. "Oh, that's just great…"

"She don't have killer hair!" came the light reply, Ben hiding behind his older sister as Brenna glared daggers at all three. 

"Hey all!!" said Kaitlin, appearing out of nowhere to stand beside Brenna.

"Hi, Kaitlin," said Amanda, giving her a hug over the half door. "What are you doing here??"

"Come to see Brenna and you guys, bug Cheeks if I can find him, create massive amounts of chaos out of whatever I can…just the usual!" She beamed so brightly that Amanda laughed quietly to herself, starting Ben and Lyssa on their rounds of checks for the uniforms. 

"Right…well, we gotta get this done, so you guys go on and enjoy yourselves. Later!"

"Later."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Randy chuckled to himself as he creeped into the girl's room, taking great pains to make not a sound as he set himself up beside Olivia's bed. First the oils to make the spells stick that were rubbed on his hands, then a light touch of it over each of Olivia's eyes…

He made a few signs in the air over her head in the glow that was his gift, smiling as it faded away into nothing. Slipping back out into the hall with a smirk, he waited by the door knowing they would be awake any second…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

**Inside the room**

Olivia clutched at her face with her hands as she tried to figure out what had happened, scratching at the mirror as if it would make the image go away. Her long, dark brown with red highlights hair was now an iron gray, as limp as overcooked noodles and patchy in several places where it had begun to fall out. Her face was heavily lined with folds upon folds of skin hanging from it. Her back, stooped over with a hump, was sore as if it'd been like that for years and more skin hung from her bones like cloth with wrinkles and warts everywhere. She'd aged practically a century in a night!!

"No…no…"

"Oh my God." Bryanna was sitting up in bed, and entirely scared as well as perplexed by what she saw. "How the heck…" Quickly checking her own reflection, she found she had no such changes. So why did Olivia…

"I don't know!!" cried Olivia, looking at her hands in horror as she tried to move the arthritis-ridden appendages. "How…I don't understand!! Why…?!" She just stared at the mirror for a few moments, letting another thought sink in. "I will kill whoever or whatever did this to me!! I swear, they are the deadest being alive right now!! I'll ground them into bits of meat to feed to the birds! Drip water on their heads until they go insane!! Take out their intestines and force them to pull them out with their own hands!! MUAHHAHAHAH!!!"

Just as she was about to go into a round of hysteria from the change, the sound of someone laughing hysterically rang from outside their door. The image fell away, leaving one very angered, but still young, Olivia in its place. Bryanna opened the door, revealing Randy who lay on the floor howling in laughter. 

"I'd run," advised Bryanna, watching Olivia shove a dress over her head. "She's going to kill you when she gets you."

"I know," he wheezed, completely out of breath from laughing so much. "Oh, believe me, I know…but it was so funny…"

"DIE!!"

"AHHH!!"

Bryanna shrugged as she shut the door, planning on getting dressed while she waited for them to return. Or at least Olivia, anyways. Whether or not she saw Randy ever again was very debatable.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Ben slipped out of the uniform room as Amanda and Lyssa finished up the last of the work, doing the hats on their own since he couldn't reach the boxes themselves. He was tall for a nine-year-older, but not by that much.

Slipping through the crowd of excited freshman who were getting a view of last years marching show and some seniors who were pompously explaining their roll in the band, he made it to the Locker room without being stepped on at all. Glancing around, he located Amanda's easily enough, being one of the bigger ones with the lock permanently off (she was too lazy to open and close it every time she needed something from it.)

It was true that she had graduated already with her friends, but since she was sticking around the house for a year they'd asked her to stay and do uniforms again as well as help with any low-brass issues they might have. So, she kept her old locker as always and he opened it to find an odd leather book sitting in it that hadn't been in it before.

By nature, all young boys are curious little things, so he pulled it out and examined the cover, finding it to be unlike anything he'd seen before. Tooled imprints in the leather gave impressions of leaves and vines, tufts of clouds and wind, threads and bobbins, and fire with metal. The gilts edges of the pages and inlaid with the title caught his eye, causing him to read it aloud to himself. 

"Circle of Magic & The Circle Opens by Tamora Pierce. Hm…sounds familiar…maybe 'Manda will know who it is."

Setting it under his arm, he scuttled off to find his sister who was still busily at work in the uniform room. Checking the hats as Lyssa called out numbers, she brushed him off as he tugged on her sleeve to get her attention.

"Not now, hun," she said, absently patting him on the head. "Just give me a second, ok? We gotta get this done so Lyssa can get back to the house…"

"But Amanda…"

"Benjamin, please!! Just a minute…"

"But I-"

"Ben!!"

"But look!!" Ben opened the book and shoved it under her nose, causing her to topple off her stool and run into Lyssa who stumbled and fell. The three of them landed in a heap on the floor, the book falling as well and closing with the proverbial 'thump' and flash of light…

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia and Bryanna both had their dress sleeves rolled up and their hair pulled back from their face, borrowed old smocks stained with all kinds of colors covering the rest of their clothes as they worked together to prepare the salve for the healing house.

"Why must we work here again?" growled Olivia, taking her hands from the base of the metal bowl just for a moment so she could tuck a stray hair out of her face. "Remind me before I go off on one of these ingrates."

"We have to so we can get our credit from here," said Bryanna, reciting the lines from their scroll. "To learn humility and duty to those less fortunate than us, no matter how small the need may be." She added some more of the crushed cinnamon from the bowl to her right, then gave the mixture a good dollop of her healing power. "Keep it right there," she said, mixing it a little faster as Olivia used her magic to keep the metal bowl just above a freezing temperature.

"How much longer?" she asked, beginning to feel the tug of losing so much energy. 

"Just a moment," said Bryanna, concentrating to make sure nothing could go wrong. "Hold it…hold it…now!" Olivia zapped it with a surge of pure cold, freezing the entire mixture in a matter of moments.

"Finally," she muttered, pulling some mages ice out of her pouch and absorbing the power she'd put there into her palms. Immediately she felt more alive and alert, although she knew she'd pay for it later that night when using the stored energy would give her the headache of the century.

"Could be worse, you know," said Bryanna with a slight smirk. "We could have Randy's job of helping check over the young ones and keep them entertained somehow…"

"That is very true."

"I take it you're the two helpers for today?" said a brisk voice, catching their attention immediately. The woman looked to be in her late twenties, maybe just reached thirty. It was hard to tell, though she wore the green robe of an Earth Temple Dedicate, which showed she was from the Winding Circle Temple outside of the city. As tall as Bryanna, with broad shoulders and curly hair trimmed close to her head, she had a man-ish look about her. 

"Yes we are," said Olivia with a nod. 

"I'm Dedicate Rosethorn," said the woman with a wry smile. "Welcome to Hulda's House, ladies, I heard you have another week of service here before you are allowed to leave."

"Unfortunately," muttered Olivia under her breath. 

"It will pass soon enough," Rosethorn said roughly. "Now, for your next job, you slice these aloe leaves into small pieces like so." She demonstrated with one of the knives nearby cutting the leaves in strips. "Boil them in this pot over the fire, and strain it with this cloth until all you get is the white liquid that will solidify into the gel if cooled properly. Now begin."

Olivia and Bryanna worked under the Dedicate's critical eye the rest of the day, getting used to her rough and impatient ways as she came to check how things were going before heading back to her job of tending to the sick and the injured. She did at times provide bits of wry humor when making sarcastic comments about the other workers and healers there, eliciting a chuckle from the two in a way that made their day go by faster.

"Well done," said the dedicate in surprise as she inspected the last of their salve batches, finding them to be perfectly done. "The shelves should be well stocked indeed by the time I get back around here…"

"Then you will not be here tomorrow?" asked Bryanna in surprise. "I thought Dedicates were required to stay at their chosen post."

"This is not where I permanently stay," replied Rosethorn, one corner of her mouth tucked in slightly. "My place is at the temple, I only come here on a regular basis to help with supplies and take care of those who need my help."

"Ah."

"Nice meeting you, then," said Olivia, feeling rather tired as she cast off her smock and bid Bryanna to do the same. "Come on, let's go get Randy and get out of here!!"

"I'm right here," came a faint voice, Randy leaning against the wall in an attempt to stand as he wearily moved towards them. "Oh my goodness…I never thought they'd leave me alone…"

"Come on," said Olivia, rolling her eyes as she slung his right arm around her shoulders. "Let's get back to the inn."

Bryanna nodded and took Randy's other side, giving the Dedicate a final grin before heading off into the twilight to the meal that would await them at their present 'home'.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Devan chewed on his lip as Grendal looked at the trio who had been sucked in with interest. "Hm…so you've got two vets from last time, and one of the vet's little sib, could be worse…"

"Easy enough group to handle," said Devan with a grin, waving his hand in the air and sending the trio off to their new destination. Grendal raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.

"That was not the spell of animals mixed in there, was it?" she asked suspiciously as she reviewed the work he had done.

"And if it was?"

"Hello," said Trystan, popping out of nowhere to stand beside the scrying mirrors and the records of the spells Devan had used. "Well done, Devan. I am most pleased with your work." She laughed to herself as she looked over the fate of the group that had just gone. "As well as very amused…"

"Well, that's a nice and good, so get!" he said, pushing her back towards her realm with his power. "It's bad enough Grendal refuses to leave, but if you insist upon babying me as well…I won't stand for that!"

"Whatever," said Trystan, giving Grendal a wink. "Ta-ta!"

"Good riddance!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda blinked as she tried to get the sunspots out of her eyes, finding herself lying on her back in the middle of the road somewhere other than the band room. Well, it wasn't a road really, it was more like a broad path surrounded by trees and fields with the grass trodden away from constant use by wagons and horses…wagons?! Horses?!

"Holy cow…"

"Um…Amanda?" said Ben, sitting up beside her. "You have a lot of gray hair…"

"What?!" She pulled part of it in shock, finding a good bit of her brown hair-which was unusually dark- to be littered with streaks of silver-gray. "This cannot be happening…"

"And you gotta tattoo, and several earrings, too. Mom would kill you if she saw you like this."

"Huh?!" Amanda stood up and looked at herself for the first time, completely shocked at what she saw. She was wearing a dark blue shirt with one long sleeve and the neckline going under her right arm so it left it bare. A silver vine pattern wove its way from her right shoulder all the way down to where it ended in a leaf on the back of her right hand. A silver armband with some words in a language she didn't recognize and the engraving of two eyes encircled her arm, and her entire outfit of the top, loose pants, and a cloth belt was made of the same dark blue with silver specks material. 

"Not again…"

"What do you mean, not again?" asked Ben. He stood before her wearing a similar outfit. "I don't get it Manda, why are we dressed up like this. And why are both of your eyes blue?" 

"They're blue?!" cried Amanda in surprise, putting her hands on her cheeks automatically. "But at least always one of them is green…"

"They aren't green any more," said Ben with a shrug. "Just a dark blue that matches your shirt." His was loose pants and a tunic that went to his elbows, a cloth belt keeping it all together. His hair was longer and spiked up without any gel, though what kept it there she couldn't tell. A bag was slung over his shoulder, and from the pocket in the breast of his tunic something had begun to move.

"What in the world…this didn't happen last time!!" Amanda sat down hard, discovering she too had a satchel slung over her shoulder laden with goods and some coins as well as a set of panpipes stuck in her belt and a lute over her shoulder.

"What are you talking about?!" demanded Ben, oblivious to the movement of his shirt he was getting so upset. 

"Well, I-"

*RIP*

Amanda and Ben both sat there with their jaws hanging open as a silver squirrel dressed in a blue tunic the same as theirs and a cap with a silver bell came tearing out of Ben's pocket, so angry that is ran around chattering at an insanely fast speed. It came up to Amanda, grabbing onto her collar and shaking it's fist at hr as it continued to chatter away; only she couldn't understand what it was saying…

#-AND THEN YOU STICK ME IN A POCKET AND DON'T TELL ME WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON! WHAT KIND OF A FRIEND IS THAT?! I MAY NOT BE THE BRIGHTEST CRAYON IN THE BOX, BUT I KNOW WHEN I'M BEING CHEATED!! HEY! WHY ARE YOU SO BIG? SHRINK! SHRINK, I SAY! THIS IS SO NOT FAIR, FIRST YOU PUT ME IN A POCKET AND THEN YOU MAKE ME THE SIZE OF A SQUIRREL-#

"Lyssa?" asked Amanda barely above a whisper.

#Who else would it be?!# she demanded, bopping Amanda on the chin with her tiny little fist.

"Um…Amanda," said Ben, looking at her sister like she'd gone crazy. "You're talking to a squirrel."

"It's not a squirrel," said Amanda. "Well, here." She took Lyssa before she could protest and put her in Ben's hands. "See?"

#Hi sweety.#

"Oh my gosh….the squirrel just talked to me…!!"

#Who are you calling a squirrel?!! I'm not a rodent, you little-#

"Well, I hate to break it to you…" said Amanda, feeling like a dolt. "But…you're a squirrel…"

#I'M A WHAT?!!!# Lyssa fell from Amanda's neck, landing in her lap as she felt herself and realized she had fur and a bushy tail. Chattering away again, Amanda realized she couldn't understand a word she was saying until she touched her with her hand, bringing her back up so she could ride on her shoulder that wasn't covered. 

"Take it easy," said Amanda, rolling her eyes as she settled herself on the grass and motioned for Ben to come sit beside her. "And stop moving, I can't hear you when you're not in contact with my skin. Lyssa, I think we've been sent back…"

#We've been WHAT?!# Lyssa looked rather shocked as a squirrel could look, her ears drooping some as her tail went limp entirely. #And I had to arrive as a squirrel…#

"Hey, I'm some street performer," said Amanda with a shrug. 

"What's she saying and what's going on?!" cried Ben, so confused that his head had begun to swirl. "I can't hear what Lyssa, if it really is her, is saying so I have no idea what you're talking about!! Will someone please explain to me what's going on?!"

"Settle down," said Amanda, drawing him beside her and placing Lyssa in both of their hands so they could all hear her incase Lyssa spoke. "Alright, Ben, what was the title of the book that you had? This is very important."

"Circle of Magic & The Circle Opens," replied Ben, looking entirely lost. "What does the book have to do with it?"

#We've been brought into it,# said Lyssa, rubbing the tips of her ears in frustration. #And we haven't been sent back, have we?#

"No, we haven't," said Amanda, turning rather pale. "I…oh, man. This is going to be interesting…"

"What's wrong?" asked Ben, looking concerned. 

"Depending on when we came in, compared to the book series, unless we came in afterwards I know about 8 years worth of happenings…" She shook her head and rose to her feet. "Come on, you two. Lyssa, you can ride on me shoulder, ok? Let's just start walking and I'll tell you everything I know both about this place and what happened last time so Ben's not lost as we go."

"Where are we going to sleep tonight?" asked Ben, looking rather confused.

"Possibly out here, under the stars," said Amanda, waving her hand about. "We'll stick to the path and hope we see someone or some place to live soon."

#Sounds good to me# said Lyssa, flicking her ears happily. #Let's go!#

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia and Randy rode side by side, their horses going at a fast walk as they argued over whom they would see next. Bryanna rode in front, ignoring them in general as she looked over the map of the roads before them.

"We're turning left at the split," said Olivia, baring fangs at the light mage. "I want to go see Master Yants. He's supposed to have spells that will give me greater control over the statues that I create!"

"We're going down the middle path so I have go see Mistress Higgins," insisted Randy, sticking his nose up at her fangs. "It is most important that I learn how to make better light illusions or my power shall never grow!"

"Grow?! It hasn't budged since we got here!!"

"But I will learn to use it more effectively that it might seem like it's growing!"

"Effectively-shmectively. We're going left!"

"Center!"

"Left!"

"Center!"

"Mule-headed moron!"

"Up-ish snob!"

"Cheap trickster!"

"You're no better!"

"No, you're worse!"

"Am not!"

Bryanna sighed as she blocked out their bickering, checking the map once more. She wasn't going to choose one over the other, and there always was the path to the right…

*Two hours later*

"Hey," said Olivia suddenly, looking up at the sun. "Haven't we gotten to the split already??"

"We passed it awhile ago," said Bryanna with a shrug, glancing over her shoulder at the pair. "You were just too busy to notice it."

"And you took the left path, right??" asked Olivia triumphantly. "Hah!! Take that you little-"

"We didn't go right," cut in Bryanna with a grin.

"WOOHOO!!" yelled Randy with a broad smile. "You went straight down the center, right?? Haha!! Loser, I told you-"

"We didn't go down the center, either," said Bryanna, the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement. 

Olivia looked at her back in puzzlement. "Then which way did we go??"

"To the right."

Silence followed, Bryanna going off into her own little world as Randy and Olivia waited for an explanation.

"…and?" said Randy after a few moments, fighting the urge to strangle the girl.

"Hm?"

"WHY ARE WE GOING THERE?!" exploded Olivia, baring her fangs at the girl's back even though she knew it wouldn't make any difference. "AND WHERE DOES IT LEAD??"

"Up the road and around a few bends," replied Bryanna. Glancing over her shoulder and seeing the look in Olivia's eyes, she added, "To Mage Master Palent's place, where we'll all take courses in herb lore."

"Each tailored to our gift?"

"Each tailored to our gift."

The two of them grumbled, glancing at the other and deciding that as long as they weren't going to the other's place it was ok.

"But we're going right back to take the left path as soon as we're done," said Olivia with a satisfied smile. "Right?"

"What?!" cried Randy in outrage. "You can't do that!! We're going to the middle one!"

"No we're not!"

"Says who?"

"Says me!!"

Bryanna rolled her eyes, wishing herself to be someplace else at that point. "Oh, shoot me now."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben walked side by side down the road, the sun setting to their backs as their shadows stretched out before them. Lyssa sat silently on Amanda's shoulder, they had finished explaining every a while ago and had nothing else to say.

"Do you see that?" asked Amanda suddenly, catching a glimpse of some light up ahead.

#Yeah# said Lyssa in her mind, her tail flicking nervously. #Other people, in some sort of a huge camp-setting too. But are they nice or not?#

"Dunno," said Amanda, Ben moving closer to her side as she loosened the daggers she'd found in the bag from their wrist sheaths just in case. "Let's go see…"

"Ho, there!" said someone, clapping their hands on Amanda's shoulders from behind and whirling her around unexpectedly. She recovered and backed up a few steps only to bump into someone else who pounded her on the back heartily.

"Huh?!"

"Leave my sister alone!" cried Ben, jumping at the man with his fists balled. 

"Careful there!!" said the man, his voice a deep base. Ben found himself hanging in the air, held by his collar at arms length where he couldn't do any harm. "No ones going to do nothing to your or your sis, if this be she."

"Who are you?" asked Amanda, looking uncertain as Ben was lowered to his feet and returned to his place at her side.

"We're the Collin's Troupe," said the young man who'd spun her around the first time. "And we've got everything from acrobats to contortionists to singers to dancers to instrumentalists to side show freaks to cheap mages to-"

"Enough," said the man with the deep voice, clapping his hand over his partner's mouth. "Before your chatter drives off their ears."

"Mhm…mhmmm." The man with the deep voice sighed, so his partner just nodded his head, giving his consent to keep quiet.

"I am Ruben," said the man with the deep voice, putting his hand-with fingers the size of large sausages- on his chest. He towered over the two of them by a good foot or so, his limbs as big around as tree trunks and stance of someone who knew he had physical power. Bald with the beginnings of lines in his face, she guessed his age to be near the forties but it was hard to tell within these medieval realms at times. "I am the strongman within this troupe."

"And I am Gen, a trick rider on the shaggy ponies from the north!" said the other fellow, getting his head free. He was as thin as Ruben was thick, giving him a stick-like image. Fair hair and skin with light brown eyes showed he was probably from the same place as the ponies where. "And who might you two be? For you are obviously performers like us, yet we weren't expecting any others coming back from that way…"

"This is Ben," said Amanda, pointing to her little brother. "I am Amanda, and this little miss is….Silven."

#SILVEN?!# Amanda just smirked, daring Lyssa to do anything when there were other people around.

"And you travel alone, just the three of you?" said Ruben slowly. "That is very impressive indeed."

"We do well enough," lied Amanda, with a nod. "Can we stay with your troupe tonight? It had been a while since we've been with friends…"

"Of course," said Gen, grabbing her arm and dragging her off to the camp. "Come on! We'll go take you to see Collin, he's the head of the troupe and he'll probably try to help you in any way he can. Even if it means letting you join the troupe!"

Ben ran after them. "Well, we don't need that as of yet…"

"Collin!! Uncle Collin!!" yelled Gen, going through the camp helter-skelter as he continued to drag Amanda after him and Ben running along in their wake. Lyssa dug her claws into Amanda's shirt and flesh, hanging on in hope she wouldn't go flying into the air. 

"What are you up to now, scamp?!" demanded a rough voice, an old man stooped over a cane coming out of the biggest tent in the camp. 

"Visitors, sir," said Gen, dropping Amanda's arm, giving a fast salute, and scampering off into the night.

"That rogue rat," sighed the man, shaking his head for a moment.  He took notice of the pair before him after a moment, watching them as they put themselves back together. "Oh! You must be the ones Gen was yelling about. My apologies for his behavior…he is quite rambunctious at times…"

"That's alright," said Amanda, smiling crookedly as she adjusted the strap of her lute. Looking at her little brother, she rubbed his head affectionately. "Young ones can be quite…energetic at times. I understand."

"Please, come in," said Collin, stepping aside to let them in. "We can continue introductions and such niceties inside with the comfort of cushions, warm food, and fresh water."

"Thank you," said Amanda, bowing slightly before going inside. A lamp overhead lit the fairly large room, pillows and cushions scattered everywhere with a low table in the center of the room. Dishes of food and pitchers of drinks covered it, making their mouths water. Lyssa jumped from her perch and sniffed around, protesting as Amanda put her back on her perch with a stern look. 

"Now," said Collin. "I am Collin Terin, Master of this Troupe. Thus named Collin's Troupe. Very creative, right?" He gave them all a wry smile, sitting down slowly with a sigh. "But please, help yourselves to the food-including your squirrel- and tell me who you are."

"Behave, Silven," said Amanda, setting down Lyssa beside her and giving her a piece of fruit and a bit of sausage with bread. Normally, such portions would've been rather insulting but since the piece of fruit was half her size Amanda figured she was able to leave her be for the moment. Pouring herself a cup of water, she turned to Collin with a slight smile. "I am Amanda, this is Ben, my little brother, and this Silver our squirrel."

"Where are you from?" asked Collin with a slight frown. "I cannot place it by your features, so it could possibly be from a place that I have not seen before…"

"Nowhere, really," said Amanda, trying to evade the question. "Our parents were not natives in the land…"

"Then were where you born."

Ben snorted. "Nowhere you've heard of."

"Then it's as he said," said Collin, giving them a smile. "You are ones from the other realm, aren't you?"

Amanda choked on the water she'd been drinking, spitting part of it before her on the table. "You *cough*…but *coughcough*….how could *cough*…"

"Relax," said Collin, waving Ben to remain seated as he shifted to run from the tent. "I am friends with the Master Mage of this area. I assume at least you, Amanda, know what I'm talking off?"

"Of course," replied Amanda, wiping her mouth dry and touching Silven so they were in contact. "So he warned you we were coming?"

#He's good to go by my instincts# said Lyssa to Amanda.

"Yes," replied Collin with a nod. "And that you'd need some training before you could go on."

Amanda smiled ever so slightly. "I suppose that is true…"

"Then it's settled," said Collin, rising to his feet slowly. "Come, we have a place for you already prepared in the camp nearby. First thing in the morning, Ben will go learn some of the basic acrobat moves with our young ones and you will learn about your gift from me-"

"I have the gift?" cut in Amanda, looking rather annoyed. "Again?! Please, anything but fighting…"

"With music," said Collin, motioning to the lute she carried with her. 

"Makes sense to me," said Amanda with a shrug. "And it will be of more use than last time. Well, thank you Master Collin. I was not prepared to have things lined up like this…"

"I understand," said Collin. "We do this for Devan often enough, though he hasn't been this excited about a set as he was about you and your people in forever! You must've come highly recommended…"

#Recommended?# asked Silven, sitting on Amanda's shoulder with her tail tickling her ear. 

"Don't look at me," said Amanda with a shrug. "Unless…do you think it has anything to do with Trystan?"

#Probably, that's the only thing I can think of…#

"Manda, what's gonna happen to us?" asked Ben suddenly, frowning as he did. 

"We're gonna live here awhile, get by with what we're given, and then when the time is right we'll go home," said Amanda, putting her arm about him gently. "You will see our family again someday, that I promise." She rose to her feet, bringing her brother with him. "Lead the way, Master Collin."

"Of course. This way, if you will…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia sat on the bench, molding the palm sized mages ice castle with a control she'd just recently achieved with Master Palent's help. Others like it with a few different details sat on the shelf of the booth they'd rented in the market square, Bryanna handling the selling and advertising as Randy sat on her other side making small mages-lights that could be given to children who were afraid of the dark. 

Besides the ice castles and small mages lights, ice packs guaranteed to stay cold for years, ointments with a boost of healing power, and tonics for every common illness known to man made up their stall's items. Other than the ice castles (they were priced more for the noble's range) everything was selling very well and they'd already covered the cost of the stall and their supplies with their earnings. 

"Here," said Bryanna, handing Olivia the water skin as she sat back to take a short break. 

"Thanks," the ice mage muttered back, rolling her shoulders to relieve the tension as she drank from it greedily. 

"I'd say we're doing fairly well," said Randy, looking over their earnings real fast before going back to the mini mage lights. He had used almost all the crystals he had brought with them and those that were already lit were selling fast. 

"Silver astrel for the spelled light," said a tall fellow, holding the crystal up for Bryanna to see.

"Five astrels, sir."

"Two, then."

"Four and five coppers."

"That's a cheat for it! I'll give you three, no more."

"Then don't buy it," said Bryanna with a shrug, holding out her hand to take the crystal back.

"Alright, four," said the man, putting the coins on the counter. "And no more than that!"

"Done," said Bryanna, whisking the money into her pouch before he could refuse. "Pleasure doing business with you, sir!"

"More like a scam…"

"How much longer do we have with Master Palent?" asked Olivia absently as she watched the man storm away with a grin of satisfaction. "For that matter, how long have we been here? I can hardly remember…"

"A week under his tutelage, a week selling things in the market place," said Bryanna, tallying up the days on her fingers. "We're supposed to study under Master Palent for at least another two weeks or so."

"A month in one place," said Randy, pausing for a moment. "It feels odd, though it shouldn't."

"Staying for so long?"

"Yeah, except a month isn't that long. If anything, I should be grateful to have my life be that stable for awhile but I'm really not…"

"You get used to whatever comes your way, that's the way we manage to survive as beings, right?" said Olivia, pouring her power and concentration back into her ice castle.

"Yes, but-"

"Shut up, I'm concentrating."

"Yes ma'am."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben both performed in their corner of the gardens, people of the town and the castle moving about to see as many of the acts and sights as they could that the Troupe provided. The Duke had provided the funding and area on his property so his people and his brother's wife and daughter could enjoy the entire group without having to charge to get in.

Ben did flips and jumps or juggled various objects –including Silven- while Amanda played lively tunes upon her panpipes or lute with certain patterns and a touch of her magic in them to induce the people to be more…free with their coppers and astrels. They had both learned a great deal those last two weeks, and it was all to their benefit.

"Getting tired?" asked Amanda as her brother came back beside her, slurping down some of the water from their bottle. 

"A bit," he admitted with a slight grin.

"Come on, we'll do the double act then."

"Ok."

Ben climbed upon Amanda's shoulders, Silven climbing atop them both to stand on his head. Amanda playing her lute and Ben a tambourine, they sang together as loudly and raucously as they could. 

"There was an otter by a stream,

Come ringle dum o lady,

Who feel asleep and had a dream,

All on the bank so shady.

He dreamt the stream was made of wine,

It flowed along so merry,

And when he drank it tasted fine,

Like plum and elderberry.

And all the banks were made of cake, 

Come single ding my dearie,

As nice as any cook could bake,

That otter felt quite cherry.

He drank and ate with right good will,

Till wakened by his daughter.

She said, 'I hope you had you fill,

Of mud and cold stream water!'

Come ringle doo fol doodle day,

Come wise beast or come witty,

A fool who dreams to dine that way,

Must waken to self pity."

While singing, Amanda danced about a bit and Silven did flips at the top. A small crowd gathered about them, amused and amazed at the same time as Ben and Silven jumped together on the last note to land in front of Amanda with their arms, spread wide.

Laughter and clapping followed, all three bowing merrily before stepping back a bit so Ben could do his part. Clearing his voice to get his attention, he sang,

"Bobble O Bobble O Bobble O,

If you know, tell me where I do grow.

High above the lowly earth,

And yet I flourish for all I'm worth.

Bobble O Bobble O Bobble O,

Tell me now if you think you know.

I hang between the earth and sky,

Green or brown as the seasons pass by

As around me the birds do fly,

and just before away go I.

Bobble O Bobble O Bobble O-ohhh

Tell me true, I'd like you to try!"

More laughter and applause followed, Amanda hiding her amused grin as people tried guess what it was the riddle was about and Ben refused to give his answer.

#What was it he's singing about?# asked Lyssa, perching on Amanda's shoulder for her next act.

"I have no idea," admitted Amanda. "I never really thought about it. And you know what?"

#What?#

"I don't think he knows either."

Lyssa paused, rolling her eyes as she hit herself on the head. #Oi…#

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Randy stuck out the tip of his tongue as he braced himself for the spell, going through it step by step as Master Palent and taught him too. First, set up his five canisters. Each was loaded with a mixture of sulfur, carbon, and some coloring like cobalt or iron to make it other than white in the sky. The mixtures were in fist-sized bundles that were tied with special cloths and cords Randy had created himself just for this experiment so they wouldn't combust on his while still on the ground. 

Next, he set up his magic behind them. Each one needed a magical as well as a physical base, created as securely as the other so nothing could go wrong. Bit by bit he built them, only using a little of his power to do this as he would need the rest just to complete it.

After the bases were built, he went through the motions and the signs that would explode with enough force to rocket the packets into the air where they would implode on themselves before shooting out into the shimmers and showers of light that he would be able to control and manipulate from his place on the ground.

Setting off the spells, everything went as planned as Randy stood there and kept a firm grip on his power so he wouldn't have any rogue sparks to deal with. The packets were launched and set off, the colors blazing overhead as Randy wove them into a band of shimmering flowers and vines all tied together. Letting them hang there for a moment, Randy let it drift for a moment or two before dissipating it into ash and smoke that drifted off into the wind.

Sitting down hard as he drained off the last of his gift to make sure every bit of light had gone out, Randy closed his eyes and sighed. It was most magnificent to look at indeed, but it took so much out of him…

"Well done," said Master Palent, a small fellow with masses of curly red hair tied back into six or seven twists that flopped about his head crazily. Bright green eyes seemed to glow with his gift as he waved for his student to be dismissed. "Go home and sleep, Randy, you need it."

"Yes…Master Palent…"

Randy heaved himself to his feet and tottered unsteadily towards the door where his horse waited for him. Pulling himself up, he nearly fell out of the saddle more than once as the beast obediently took him back to the inn where they were staying and let him off at the front door. 

Stumbling through the main room and opening the door to the one he shared with Olivia and Bryanna, they greeted him with a grin and a table full of food for him to eat.

"Nicely done," said Olivia, going back to her latest ice creation. Randy stumbled past her, going behind the screen that partitioned their two rooms. "Food is there on the table, Bry and I already…Randy? …Randy???"

"…zzzz……zzzz…..zzzz…."

"He's a fool for draining himself like that," said Bry with a wry grin, going in long enough to throw a blanket over him before drawing the screen closed for the night and going back to her book on the bed.

"Like you haven't done it."

"I have, and at times I'm a food too."

"Great, I'm stuck with two fools."

"Those who stay with fools is a fool."

"Then you're saying I'm a fool?"

"And if I am?"

"…sometimes, I hate it when you're right."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Ben ran along the boarder between the Duke's gardens where the Troupe was staying and the city grounds, Silven perched on his shoulder and hanging on for life. He rounded a bend and ran into someone more solid than him, falling back on his rump in surprise as Silven was jarred from her perch. Chattering angrily, she scampered back up onto his shoulder and flicked his ear for throwing her before settling down once more.

"Ow, sorry Silven!! I didn't mean to…" Ben looked up, seeing a well-dressed man standing before him with a little girl his age standing beside him. "Oh, sorry about that sir!!" He scrambled to his feet quickly, dusting off himself. "Really, I am! I didn't see you there…"

"It's ok, young one," said the man, picking up Ben's hat and dusting it of for him. "I should have been watching where I was going as well. Who are you, though, and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Ben," he said, pointing to himself with his thumb before motioning to the squirrel on his shoulder. "And this is Silven, we're with the troupe that's performing here right now."

"I see," said the man, considering  his words carefully.

"'Scuse me," said Ben, looking at him with his head cocked to the side. "But who are you, sir? I've never seen you around before."

"I'm the Duke's brother," said the man, squatting so he and Ben could see each other eye to eye. "And this is my daughter, Sandry."

"Hi," said the girl, stepping forward some and smiling and Ben brightly. Honey blonde hair cascaded down her back, and a pair of bright blue eyes regarded him lightly.

"Nice to meet you both," said Ben, nodding to them each since nobles meant nothing to him. Amanda had forgotten to mention the meaning of rank to him, and everyone had over looked it as a fact he'd just know automatically.

Silven reached up and tugged on Ben's ear, getting his attention back. #We're supposed to be back by now# she said in his mind. #Amanda's going to be worried…#

"Oh, what a cute squirrel that is!" exclaimed Sandry, gently reaching out to scratch Silven behind the ears. "You said her name is Silven, right? Is she hungry? I think I might have some fruit…"

#What..?!#

"Yes, I believe so," said Ben wickedly, taking Silven from his shoulder with a silent command to behave. "Would you like to hold her? She's quite tame, really…"

"Oh, could I?"

"Yes, go ahead."

"Thank you!!"

Sandry's father watched in amusement as she took Silven and fed her bits of dried raspberries preserved in honey. 

"She'll do tricks too," said Ben, tried not to burst out laughing at it all. "Seriously. Ask her to do anything at all."

"Alright. Silven, do a flip!!"

Silven silently fumed inside as she was degraded to the level of a mere pet and did the flip, sending several threatening glares in Ben's direction as he just grinned all the more. 

"Oh, good squirrel!! Here's a treat!" Sandry fed Silven the bit of fruit, human turned squirrel only accepting because she liked sweet things.

"I have to go," said Ben, realizing he'd spent more time with them than he should've. "My sister will be waiting for me."

"Thank you for letting me see your pet," said Sandry, smiling as she handed Silven back as carefully as she could.

"You're very welcome," replied Ben, giving her a slight bow. "Bye Sandry, and Sir. Come and see me and my sister perform tonight, if you would!! I would really like it."

"Perhaps we will," said Sandry's father. "Come on, Sandry, back to the castle for now."

"Yes, papa."

"That wasn't so bad," said Ben as Silven fumed on his shoulder all the way back to where Amanda sat making their dinner.

#Tricks?! You made me lower than an animal, you made me out to be your PET!!# cried Silven, whacking Ben with her paw. It only did so much, though, considering it was the size of a pea…

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," laughed Ben, picking her up and holding her at a distance. "Please, no more, you'll kill me doing –OW!!" He rubbed his hand where she's bit him, sticking his tongue out at her as she took refuge on Amanda's shoulder. "Darn rodent."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

There you have it, Chapter 3. It's getting there, more people will be coming in soon (though not quite in the flood they were last time). Here's your warning- There WILL be more character than last time, though less groups. If you are having trouble keeping them straight here's what I'm going to do. In my profile will be a list of the characters, the groups they are in, and a short bio as they come up in the story. That way, you can just go there and check it if you get lost, k? ^_^

My thanks to those who reviewed, I love you all!! ^_^ Please review, for it makes me feel very very special. 

Oh, and one last note~ #…# this is the format that will be used for all mind speech and animal talk, k? Alright. Thank you!

To Infinity, and Beyond!!

~Crosseyedbutterfly~


	4. 

*Poof* Is back!! Ahh…lots and lots of sleep…plus easy cash from watching kids…plus a month's supply of chocolate…I am one happy author indeed! Here's your chapter, go and read it now like good little fans. ^_^

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda slowly woke up as the sun hit her eyes, staring up at a blue sky in wonder as she tried to place where she was. A furry tail brushed her nose, making her sneeze as she sat up quickly. She was lying at the edge of a haystack, Benjamin beside her and wrapped up in the cloak they shared. Silven sat on her shoulder, slowly waking at her bed's sudden shift in position.

#Can't you lie still?? It's just now dawn…# complained Silven, rubbing her eyes with her paws before retrieving her hat from Amanda's lap.

"Which means we need to get going to the next town," said Amanda with a slight smile. "Or Winding Circle, which ever comes first."

#We've already been through Summersea again# said Lyssa, washing her face and ears with the small bowl of water Amanda offered her. #Went through it sometime last night#

"Which means that we should reach Summersea sometime today," said Amanda, getting up and stretching out the kinks she'd gotten from sleeping on the ground. She shook her brother's shoulder gently, waking him from his deep slumber as she picked a few bits of hay from her clothes. "Come on, Benny boy, time to get up and get going so we can find some breakfast."

"Aw…let me sleep…" he mumbled, making her laugh as he rolled back over on his side. 

"Now, you little lazy bag of bones," she laughed, tickling him on the bottom of his feet enough to get him up and moving.

"That's not fair!!" squealed Ben, shoving on his sandals and scrambling out of her reach. 

"It's plenty fair," said Amanda, ruffling his hair gently as she gathered up her lute and pack from beside her. "I'm your big sister, I'm supposed to do things like that."

"Sure…" He bent to pick up his own back, a silver necklace with a pendant falling from it as well as a signet ring of some kind. "Huh? What's this?"

"What's what?" asked Amanda, looking at it over his shoulder. Her eyes widened in surprise as she took it from his hands. "Oh my…"

"What is it??" asked Ben, standing on tiptoes to see it as she held it closer to her face to make sure it was the right one. "Come on, Manda, tell me what it is!! I wanna know too!!"

"It's something Eliz and another friend gave me," she said, putting the ring on the necklace and putting it on her own neck so it fell beneath her shirt. "Do you remember how I said I was a noble before? A rich and privileged person?"

"Yeah, so?"

"This necklace and pendant is my fief's symbol, or one of them anyways. It's a paw with a sign on it, see? And the ring, it's a signet ring from the fief. Originally, it belonged to Levi, but we traded before we left…he needed mine to secure his claim on the fief and he gave me his that I might have something to remember them all by."

"But how did it get here?" persisted Ben. "It wasn't there before!"

"Are you sure?" asked Amanda, running a hand over the top of her head to make sure all the braids were still in place. "Can you be positive about that, Ben?"

"Well…no…but still…"

"I had it on before we left," said Amanda, putting Silven up on her shoulder as the squirrel had finished her meal of leftover fruit from the night before. "And I had wondered where it went to…"

Ben's stomach growled, bringing them both back to the present. "Can we worry about it later?" he asked, rubbing his stomach ruefully. "I want something to eat…"

"Let's go, then," said Amanda with a grin, shouldering the last of her things. "Come on, we'll stop at the first farmhouse we see and barter some coins for a loaf of bread and jam. And maybe a tart or two as well if we can manage it."

"Alright!!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia, Randy, and Bryanna sat in a row, trying to concentrate on the droning Master Mage before them.

"Do you understand that, maglings?"

"Yes, Master Noca," ground Olivia through her teeth, hating being called 'magling' by the old oaf.

"Good…now clear your minds…and concentrate!"

He repeated the exercise another twelve times, each of which they completed perfectly but he was dissatisfied with it nonetheless.

"Enough, maglings," he said after awhile, a hint of disgust in his voice. "You cannot perform it today, therefore we will try again tomorrow."

"What are we to do until then, Master Noca?" asked Bryanna, a hopeful look in her eyes. "We still have this afternoon's lessons to complete…"

"Go study in the library for the rest of the day," he said, waving them away with a flutter of his hands. "Go, copy want you want, I don't care, just know that if I find a single book of mine has been harmed…"

"We will all be burned into little bitty bits my yours truly," finished Randy with a savage grin. "We know, we know. Can we go, now?"

"Get out of here," said Master Noca. "And don't bother me again today, do you understand??"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Useless maglings…can never get them to work…" Master Noca wandered off into his workroom, slamming the door shut behind him. The three of them looked at each other, pausing for a moment before scattering in different directions to find their choice of books. 

"Where is it…where is it…" muttered Bryanna to herself, scanning the volumes for one certain title she had spotted earlier. "Come on, come on…" Her fingers traced the titles, knowing it had been in this space somewhere…

"Looking for this?" asked Randy, absently holding a brown, leather book over his head with silver inlaid for the title and edges of the pages as his other hand flipped through the large, dusty chronicle before him.

"Yes!" Bryanna darted over, reaching up to take it from him…only to find she was too short to do so. "Randy?! Come on, I've been waiting to get my hands on that-"

"Since we walked in the door and you first saw it," Randy finished for her with a smirk. "I don't get it, it's just a book on healing in bare minimum conditions. We're always going to be at least adequately stocked as far as supplies go, so why bother with this?"

"Because you never know," replied Bryanna, snatching it from his hand as Olivia sent them a 'Shut-up-NOW' glare from her end of the library. Surrounded by several dusty chronicles and scrolls, some on how to fight and defend with her particular form of magic, they opted to lower their voices for the moment.

"Never know what?" asked Randy, shrugging idly as he turned his back on her. "Come on, our path is set, we're never going to have less than we need."

"That's not guaranteed," disagreed Bryanna with a shrug. "You don't believe me, fine, but I intend to prepare just in case."

"That's what comes from being an ex-thief," muttered Randy under his breath, rolling his eyes. "Now where's that text on Light Illusions…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kaitlin bounced happily in random directions around the band room, her blondish-red hair falling well past her shoulders in a horsetail down her back. She grabbed on to Cheeks suddenly, pulling the startled marching band vet enough off his balance that he was forced to follow her crazy path all the way to the front of the band room. She stopped there suddenly, looking in surprise at the young woman who stood there uncertainly at the door.

"Hey, I know you!!" said Kaitlin in surprise. "You're that Valedictory-thingy-person, aren't you? The one who was ranked first in last year's class!! What's your name again??"

"Uh, Rupal," said the girl, her tan skin and dark hair showing her Asian decent as she looked back at the hyper sophomore with turquoise eyes. "Hey, have you see Amanda Frias or Bryanna Reeves? One of them has a card I need…"

"Haven't seen Bry-Bry," said Kaitlin, tilting her head to the side as Cheeks finally got his head back beside her. He towered over her by at least a head; his barrel chest and thick arms giving him a 'sharp as a dull crayon look' complete with his small eyes and buzzed hair. Luckily, he was also a lot smarted that he looked (most of the time).

"Not at all?" asked Rupal, frowning some. "She was supposed to be here today, wasn't she?"

"So was Olivia and Randy, haven't seen them either," replied Cheeks with a shrug. 

"Where can I find Amanda, then?" asked Rupal. "Or is she not here either?"

"Oh, she's here," said Kaitlin, grabbing her arm and pulling the short, young woman after her at a trot. "She's working in Her Room, a.k.a. the uniform room. I swear, she's set up a bed and dresser and live in there if Mr. Payne would let her."

"Um…ok…" She turned to Cheeks, who followed them with a shrug. "Is she always like this."

Cheeks grinned. "Unfortunately."

"Hey!"

"Just kidding, just kidding…"

"Manda!!" Kaitlin threw open the door, finding the room entirely empty, though with a stool and a couple of stands knocked over that hadn't been like that before. "…Amanda? Ben? Lyssa??"

"What's wrong?" asked Cheeks, sticking his head in above theirs over the half-door.

"Nobody's there…"

"That's impossible," said Cheeks, scratching his head as he dead. "The little guy went back in there not even five minutes ago, they couldn't have left since then without being noticed…"

"I know but…ooh!! What's this?" Kaitlin jumped over the lower half of the door and picked up the leather-bound book that lay on the floor. Rupal opened the door from the outside, letting her and Cheeks in. "Wonder where this came from…"

"Looks old to me," said Rupal, touching the parchment pages from beside her. "Ancient, even."

"And maybe worth something too," added Cheeks. "I wonder who it belongs too…"

"Hey, you guys," said Brenna, coming in with a confused look on her face. "What are you guys doing in here? Amanda's not supposed to…" She realized with surprise that the original three occupants of the room had vanished from sigh. "Unless she's not here, which would at least explain why you're standing in there and still alive…" Her eyes narrowed as she saw the book lying open in Kaitlin's hands. "Hey, wait a sec! Holy cow…that can't be-"

"SAVE MEEEEE!!!!" cried Libby, running in the room and slamming into Brenna full force. Everyone toppled from there like dominos, the fateful closing of the book and flash of light marking their exit from that realm into the next…

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna leaned back on the cushion Randy had brought out for her, Olivia lying nearby with a couple of empty glasses beside her and Randy begging for forgiveness in between them both.

"Please, you guys," he said, groveling to the point that his head was touching the sand. "It would mean so much to me…"

"So you can prance around in that hoe's bed for a night? I think not," cut in Olivia, snapping her fingers like she would at a dog. "Go fetch me another whatever these things are!" She held up her empty glass emphatically. "And be quick about it!"

"Yes, ma'am…"

"What is it he wants?" asked Bryanna, closing her eyes and letting the sound of the waves below them wash over her as if it were the water itself. 

"One of my 'never-ending' ice packs obviously filled with Mages Ice, and some sort of a birth prevention potion. Not sure what, but he says he's got the recipe and all you have to do is make it and put a burst of your magic in it."

"And he wants them because…?"

"Some girl in town asked him to. That's where he got the 'recipe' from," explained Olivia. "He says he's just being 'nice', the bastard…"

"So you think he has other intentions, then?"

"Of course! Nothing is ever for free, ever." Olivia considered her words for a moment. "Nope…never free…"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I could honestly not care less," said Bryanna, rising to her feet as Randy came scrambling back with the drink held carefully in his hands. "Later."

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Randy, a hopeful look on his face. "Is my groveling over?? Will you-"

"If she helps you, I will," said Bryanna, simply motioning towards Olivia before heading back towards their rooms. "Otherwise, you're outta luck."

"Aw, but Bry…"

"No buts, get her approval or forget about it," said Bryanna with a shrug. "Personally, I don't care. But I think it's sweet she does. Therefore, you can discuss it wit her."

"Bry!"

Olivia started at her choice of words. "Hey!! Get back here…"

"Not on your life." Bryanna walked away, listening to them argue behind her distantly. They acted like they were married sometimes and they weren't even dating.

This was going to be a long couple of years if the last trip were anything to go by.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Ben sighed as they continued to walk down the road, kicking up dust behind them as Amanda hummed softly to herself. Lyssa lay on his head, limbs all akimbo as her tongue lolled out comically on the side. "You'd better not be drooling on me," he warned, adjusting the strap on his shoulder. 

#I'm not# retorted Lyssa idly, patting his head with one of her paws. #Come on, do I look like an animal to…huh. Ok, then, do I act like an animal to you?#

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

#Shut up and keep walking#

"Haha, that's what I thought."

"Leave her alone, Ben," said Amanda, smiling at them both as she swung the lute around and began to absently pick out a few cords here and there. "She's a squirrel, a tiny little thing that's thought of as a pet. How'd you like to be like that?"

"Remind me why we're going this way again?" asked Ben, ignoring her question all together. "And what is it called, exactly? Winding something…Square? Oval?"

"Winding Circle, you doof," said Amanda, laughing as he ducked his head and blushed slightly. "We're going because Master Collin asked us to. Or, he asked us to for one of his tumblers. She knows someone there, wanted us to pass along a note for her since we were going in that direction anyways."

"Which one??"

"Mistress Undine," replied Amanda, pausing her playing for a moment. "The real little one that's getting kinda old with the gray streaks in her hair-"

"Like you?" quipped Ben, ducking as Amanda swatted at his playfully. Lyssa slipped from her perch, grabbing onto his ear before managing to swing back up again.

#Hey!! Stop moving already!!# she yelled, jumping from Ben to Amanda so she could fine a more stable perch there.

"She getting grouchy?" asked Amanda, letting her curl up on her shoulder while Ben rubbed his ear lightly.

"Yeah," he muttered, "Come on, there's something up ahead."

A huge wall loomed over them as they approached the gate, a guard in a red robe stopping them there with a wave. 

"What business have you here?" he asked, a hopeful look on his face as he realized they were performers of sorts. 

"A message for Dedicate Lark," said Amanda, bowing respectfully as all performers did. "Can we be taken to her, please? I have been asked to deliver this message in person…"

"Of course," said the guard, waving over one of the Novices who were walking along nearby. "Tanya, take this young lady over to Dedicate Lark, will you? She should be at Discipline, if not try the other loom houses as usual."

"Yes, sir," said the girl, flashing him a slight smile before beckoning for the two humans to follow her down the path. She was shorter than Amanda, though taller than Ben. Probably five foot or so, with long red-gold hair, tinted just a little too copper to be strawberry blonde but close enough. A bit pale as far as skin coloring goes, Amanda could tell she'd been out in the sun too much by the pealing on her pink nose. Grey-blue eyes seemed to constantly flit back and forth between them and the path, obviously filled with curiosity at their odd appearance.

"If you don't mind me asking…" she started shyly. "I was just wondering…who are you? No one in town or the temple dresses like you, not even the street singers and dancers."

"I'm a musician and he's a tumbler," explained Amanda with a shrug. "We dress like this just because we do."

"Oh! Ok…um…I didn't mean to pry…"

"No harm done," Amanda assured her quickly. Silven suddenly got up, scampering down Amanda's arm to chatter at the girl. "Hey, what's up with you?? I thought you were asleep…"

"She's so cute!!" gushed the girl, reaching out slowly to scratch the squirrel behind the ears. "May I? Just for a moment?"

"Of course," said Amanda with a grin. "Behave, Silven." Tanya laughed as Silven snorted and stuck her nose up at Amanda, acting as if she understood every word they said perfectly. Not that she didn't, but being a squirrel usually meant you couldn't do such things. 

"Here we are," said Tanya, cradling Silven to her chest with one hand as she opened the gate with the other. "Come, Rosethorn and Lark should be having lunch right about now…"

"Lunch?" asked Ben, perking up immediately. 

"Bottomless pit," teased Amanda as Tanya handed Silven back to her, knocking on the door softly. She heard a chair being pushed back inside and low voices talking amongst themselves. "Thank you for bringing us here, Tanya. Perhaps we will meet again sometime."

"Perhaps," she replied, smiling shyly as she waved to them both. Turning suddenly and scampering down the path, she was gone in the blink of an eye. 

Ben blinked. "Wow she's fast…"

"Can I help you?" asked a curt voice, bringing them both back to the door. A short woman stood there, as tall as Tanya had been with chestnut brown hair that was mannishly short and parted on the side. Tanned from working long hours in the sun, and sharp eyed as any, she looked them over for a moment before cocking her head to the side. Amanda repressed the urge to break down and hug her as she replied.

"I'm called Briteyes," said Amanda, using the new name the performers had given her. "And this is my brother Scamp." Silven tugged on her ear from her perch on the young woman's shoulder. "And this is Silven. I have a note for Dedicate Lark, and was told I would find her here…"

"I am Dedicate Rosethorn," said the woman, smiling wryly as she bowed to them. She eyed Ben for a moment, as if he were some insect she wanted to rid herself of. "Dedicate Lark is here. Please, come in."

"Thank you," said Amanda, walking in the room with Ben right behind her. 

"Who is it, Rosie?" asked a calm voice, three others seated at the table with a meal of cold cuts, vegetables, cheese, and bread spread out for them to eat. 

"Are you Dedicate Lark?" asked Amanda, pulling a sealed envelope out of her bag. 

"Yes, I am," replied the woman. She looked to be in her late twenties, maybe early thirties, a heart-shaped face smiling on them both kindly as she bowed to them slightly and they bowed in return. 

"This is from Mistress Undine, she asked me to deliver it to you," said Amanda, handing the letter to her carefully.

"Then you are a part of Master Collin's Troupe?" asked Lark in surprise.

Amanda shook her head. "We were a temporary addition, and left their company a few weeks or so ago." She looked over at the other two men who sat at the table, one a tall fellow with black hair streaked with silver, elegantly dressed but not to the point of being overly excessive. The other was a massive man, black with a flowing pepper and salt beard and hair just as long. White teeth flashed as he smiled at them both.

"Please, join us for midday," offered Lark, Ben eyeballing the food even as he stood there with his mouth watering. "You must be tired…"

"Please can we stay?" begged Ben immediately, getting grins from the rest of the adults as he looked at her imploringly. "Please, please, please?"

"Here, you can have this bench," said the tall, thin fellow. He got up and moved around to the other side with the huge guy. "Please, we insist."

"Thank you," said Amanda, sitting down and setting Silven on her shoulder. Taking a bit of ham and bread, she gave it to the squirrel before helping herself and her brother to the bounty on the table. 

"How is Master Collin and Mistress Undine?" asked Lark as she settled herself back down. "I haven't seen either in years…"

"Well enough," replied Amanda with a half-grin. "Undine maybe twice my age but she's also twice as flexible as I'll ever be…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Oh, this is so much fun!!" laughed Devan, throwing some spells together before sending the group on to their new home. "Fun, fun, fun!! Hehehahah! Hhahahhahahahh!! MUAHAHAHAHHHAHAHH-" *choke* *gasp* *COUGHCOUGH*

A storm began brew outside as the young mage brought himself under control.

*rumble* *rumble*

*BOOM*

*CRASH*

"Eep!!" Devan hid under the table, covering his head with one arm as he continued to cough with the other.

"Don't tell me you're still afraid of lightening," said Grendal, appearing in the corner as usual.

"Shaddup and make it go away!!" he growled, sounding more like a frightened puppy than anything else. "I'm a bit…touchy in this form!"

"You're a bit touchy in every form," replied Grendal ever so sweetly, making it all disappear with a wave of her hand. 

"No good, dirty rotten, stinky, bratty, annoying, meddling, older sisters!" muttered Devan to himself.

"What was that, Dev?"

"Nothing," he replied quickly, diligently going back to work.

"Right…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Brenna grabbed on to the closest thing to her, which happened to be a very unstable Libby, causing both of them to crash to the ground. "What did you do this time, Lib?!" she groused, rubbing her head where it had hit the ground none too gently. 

"Payne …was gonna…kill me…"

"He's gonna kill you even more when he sees what you did! We must've knocked over every stand in the whole-"

"I don't think we're in the uniform room anymore," cut in Kaitlin, sounding very, very nervous. "For that fact, I don' think we're in freaking Charlotte anymore!!"

"What?!" That's when it hit Brenna as she slowly rose to her feet. The leather book…the flash of light… "Oh my gosh…Libby, do you know where we are?" she asked softly, not even bothering to look around herself at all. 

"Where?" asked Libby, rubbing her eyes on her sleeve. Then she realized something, she'd been where a sleeveless shirt when she walked out the door this morning. How in the world…?

"WE'RE BACK!!" cried Brenna, laughing maniacally as she reached for her sides and found what she assumed to be her two trusty daggers sticking right in her belt. Pulling them out with a twist, she cried, "The QUEEN of THIEVES is BACK IN BUSINESS!!"

"Um, Brenna?" asked Kaitlin, hiding behind Cheeks with Rupal as they all stared at her. "You're holding a small shovel and tine…one of those little pronged garden thingies…"

"Huh?!" Brenna brought them to her face, seeing Kaitlin was right and her thief garb had been traded for the hitched up robes of a common farmer. "This can't be right…no!! I want my leather, daggers, and Court of Thieves!!"

"Brenna wearing leather," said Kaitlin, still the only one out of all of them able to speak at all. "Sexy."

Cheeks sat down hard on the ground. "I am so freaking lost…"

Rupal joined him there. "You're not the only one, at least."

"Wait a sec," said Libby. "We could be back, you know, it could just be that we're somewhere else in Tortall." She made a face. "Or you know what would really suck? If we came back and all our friends from before were preschoolers."

"Don't say that!" cried Brenna, bopping Libby on the head with the handle of her shovel before putting both tools back in her belt. "That CANNOT be the case, alright?? No, I…never, it can't happen."

"Let's just find out if it is the same book," suggested Libby. "Who had the book? Come on, raise that hand high…"

"We did," said Cheeks, pointing to himself, Rupal and Kaitlin. 

"What as the title?"

"Circle of something," said Rupal with a shrug. "Might've been magic…"

"Oh no…"

"Tell me what's going on!!" demanded Kaitlin, pouncing on Brenna and sitting her stomach while the latter stared up at the sky. "Enough riddles, enough confusing Kaitlin because it happens too much as it is!! Where are we and why are we dressed all funny?!" She was dressed in a long skirt and shirt, a plain smock over it all with a pouch pocket above her belt and a few others below. 

Cheeks stood up and dusted off his pants, wearing that with boots and a loose work shirt complete with a worn leather vest with pockets. Rupal stood beside him, wearing boots to her knees and loose linen pants, her collar shirt well fitting and leather vest decorated with a circular pattern in thread. A thick belt around it all, she looked more like a businessperson of sorts than the farm boy Cheeks was dressed as. Libby wore leggings and low boots, her shirt loose like Cheeks with a smock over it that resembled Kaitlin's only it went to her knees and not her ankles. 

"We got pulled into Tamora Pierce's book, or series, the Circle of Magic," explained Libby, rubbing the bump on her head as she pouted at Brenna. "Or at least, that's what I figure has happened.

"That's the only thing that could've happened, numbskull," said Brenna, inspecting her own outfit more closely. Loose, long one-piece linen dress with a cloth belt, she might've passed for a dedicate in some temple if it weren't a light purple.

She started to play with her hair, wondering what to do not when she realized something. Her hair reached to the middle of her back, the length it would be if it weren't so curly…only it wasn't curly anymore and it was a deep purple-black as well.

"Holy cow…"

"Oh my," said Kaitlin as she really looked at Brenna for the first time. "Um, Brenbren? You got dark violet eyes…"

"I WHAT?!?"

"Settle down," said Cheeks. "You always said you wanted purple eyes. Now you've gott'em."

"This almost makes up for the fact that I'm no longer a queen," said Brenna, happily prancing around as the others just got more and more lost on what was going on. She paused for a moment, considering it. "Well…no. Only almost." And resumed happily prancing as always. 

"I can't believe this," said a little boy, appearing before them. "Why are you still standing out here?!"

"Where else would we have to go?!" demanded Libby. She pounced on him and shook him firmly. "Hey, you're the mage dude, aren't you? What's going on here?!"

"Trystan recommended you, therefore I brought you here," he said with a shrug. He ghosted out of her grasp, becoming solid again a few steps away. "Anyways, the dark girl with the nice vest has the land deed, that house right there and everything in it plus the land named in the deed is yours." He pointed to a two-story farmhouse behind them, the only building for a few miles either way down the road. "I'll give you three guesses at your new occupation."

Brenna looked down at the tine and shovel in her belt, and then looked back with a scowl on her face. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope," he said with a benevolent smile. "Have fun!" And disappeared from sight. 

"This is so depressing," said Brenna. "I went from a Queen to a farmer. There's no in between either, it's just 'poof'! Here ya go! Go be a farmer now!"

Rupal looked at them all, and then fished the deed out of her pouch where it was just as he'd said. "I am still so incredibly lost…all I wanted was my card!! Was that too much to ask??"

"Let's go in," said Libby with a shrug. "He said it was ours, after all. We can figure out what's going to happen from there."

"Alright," said Rupal, putting the deed back in her belt and following the others to the front door. Brenna fished about her own pouch and found a key, the one that opened the front door.

"Um, guys?" said Cheeks, scratching his head as he did. "I don't really care what's gonna happen, and all, I just have one thing."

"What's that?" asked Kaitlin, looking at him in confusion.

"I get my own room!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~\

Randy stuck out his tongue as he went through the layers of the illusion, using all the detailing tricks Master Noca had taught them (or he'd pulled from the library) to make it even more realistic than before.

First the sight, building it bit by bit so everything from its rich, dark color to the moist, soft texture was picture perfect. The extra parts he added on carefully, making sure the shadows fell right on it and everything was to the best quality he could design.

Then he went on to smell, it's deep, appetizing aroma rising from it in steamy tendrils. His own mouth began to water, but he stopped himself from trying to dive into it by putting his hand through it and still finding it to be intangible. 

Last, but far from the least, he added on a spell of imagining, where what the person thought would happen when they touched it, it would. Also, he added on a trick spell just for fun, wishing he'd be awake to see it but knowing after such expenditure he'd be out for a while.

Randy laid his head on the table and cut off his magic from it, letting it stabilize on his own so it would stay as it was until he'd woken up again. Drifting off into the land of nod, he smiled happily as he felt he'd outdone himself again. You shouldn't give such tempting powers to one who has little self-control at times…

Bryanna came in awhile later, seeing a humungous chocolate cake with medium bits of decorations like flowers in vanilla and chocolate icing covering the top and part of the sides. "Wow…" She walked around it, seeing Randy asleep on the other side with a small smile on his face. She poked him a couple of times, but finding that he wasn't going to wake anytime soon she went back to circling the cake and wondering if it was for them or not.

"What smells so go?" asked Olivia, coming in the door with a few bags in her hands. Setting them on a bed, she went straight to the cake with huge eyes. "Oh my gosh…it's chocolate heaven…"

"I know," said Bryanna, her mouth watering to the point that she thought she was going to start drooling. "But is it for us or not…?"

"He's here asleep, so I'd say it is," said Olivia, taking out a knife and a plate. "If it's not, that's their problem. They shouldn't have left it near me." She cut out a slice and put it on the plate, picking up a fork and taking a bite of it without any hesitation. 

"How is it?" asked Bryanna, watching her chew on it thoughtfully.

"A bit rich, but great," added the ice mage, quickly devouring the whole slice. "Man, I want some more…"

Bryanna shrugged and cut them both a slice, sitting down at the table and trying it for herself. Olivia was right, it was one of the most delicious things she'd ever eaten before in her life! They continued to eat and eat, each going through goodness knows how many slices when Olivia paused, her fork halfway to her mouth when she realized something. They were eating and eating and eating, but nothing more than the slice she'd first eaten was disappearing at all. In fact, it looked as if that bit of space was shrinking as well.

"What's going on…"

"Hmhm." Bryanna shrugged and opened her mouth, biting down on another piece of cake…only to find herself with a mouthful of form. "Hm?!" She took it out, running her tongue over her teeth gently. "Eck…what in the world??"

Olivia looked over at Randy, who's smile had gotten bigger and had an eye cracked open just enough so he could see. "RANDY!!" She thwaped him over the head with her fork, reaching for the cake to toss at him as well only to find it had disappeared entirely. The crumbs, the icing on the plates, the taste in her mouth, everything was gone like it had never existed at all.

Both girls looked at Randy, their eyes glowing with one single, harrowing intent. 

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH-" *gurgle* *choke* *gasp* .

.

.

o.o "Um…Olivia? He's turning blue…"

-_- "DO YOU WANNA TAKE HIS PLACE??!!!"

0.o;; "Never mind…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Silven helped Rosethorn in her garden, pulling up weed after weed in the morning sun. "You are sure you are staying until Midsummer, then?" asked Rosethorn, carefully planting a new shrug she'd gotten on the side of the house.

"Oh, yes," said Amanda with a nod. "We've been asked to be a part of the festivities, and who could refuse when our pay will be bags of food from Dedicate Gorse? If ever a man should be declared the cook of the world, it would be he." Her pants pulled up around her knees and her usual blue top traded for a plain white one from the attic, she was more than happy to do her share of the work while they stayed at Discipline with the two Dedicates. Their last students hadn't moved out more than a few months ago, and enjoyed the company Amanda, Ben, and Silven provided while they were there.

"Mandamandamanda!!" shouted Ben, running around the side of the house. He skidded to the stop at the edge of the garden, knowing perfectly well what would happen if he disturbed the slightest thing within it. And he had a deathly fear of wells because of it. He stilled called her by her old name, though, and was the only one she allowed to do so.

"What is it, Scamp?" asked Amanda, standing up straight and wiping the sweat from her eyes.

"Dedicate Moonstream is here to see you," said Ben, his eyes huge.

Amanda frowned, trying to place the name. "Dedicate Moonstream?"

"The head Dedicate of Winding Circle," said Rosethorn, sounding surprised herself. "I wonder why she would wish to see you…"

"Are you the one called 'Briteyes'?" asked a woman, appearing beside the garden the same way Ben had come. She was an older woman, her light hair streaked with gray and lines around her mouth and eyes. She had a worldly, assured aura around her that put the musician at ease immediately. 

"I am," said Amanda, quickly stepping out of the garden and dusting herself off as best she could. She bowed to the woman respectfully. "A pleasure to meet you, Dedicate Superior Moonstream."

"Dedicate Moonstream," said Rosethorn, standing beside Amanda and bowing as well. "What a surprise."

"My apologies, Dedicate Rosethorn," said Moonstream with a slight smile. "But I wish to borrow your helpers for awhile, if I may."

"Of course," said Rosethorn, bowing again before heading off into her garden once more. 

"This way, if you will," said Moonstream, her gaze catching all three of them before heading off towards her office. They followed in silence, finding themselves a short while later sitting with her in a circle of trees seated across from each other. 

"What is it you require of us, Dedicate Superior Moonstream?" asked Amanda, Lyssa sitting as still as a statue on her lap and Ben beside her.

"Your squirrel," said Moonstream, motioning to Lyssa with her hand. "She is not really a squirrel, is she? And you two…you are not from here, are you?"

"W-what do you mean?" stuttered Amanda, the color draining from her face as Lyssa stared at the woman like she'd just grown a beard and was singing drunkenly at the top of her lungs. "We weren't born in Summersea, yes, but…"

"I mean you're not from here period," said Moonstream. "That squirrel…every time I see her I see a young woman's face. Come here, child." Lyssa went forward to her, drawn by some unknown force before she stopped and laid her paw on the Dedicate's hand. "What are you, child?"

#I am a human# replied Lyssa, all three of them able to hear her even though only Moonstream was in physical contact. #Though, for as long as we're here, I inhabit this form instead#

"Who did this to you, child?"

#The Master Mage did, he gave Amanda her gift and all of us our new life, just as his sister Trystan did in Tortal…#

"Good," said Moonstream, a look of relief crossing her face. "Then it is only him…"

"What do you mean, 'only him'?" asked Amanda, completely confused out of her mind as Lyssa fled back to her waiting arms. "This makes no sense…how could you possibly-"

"He's a mage, dear," said Moonstream with an all-knowing look on her face. "And a young one at that…when he first started out, he took his lessons in magic from those here at the temple who were before me." She shrugged, a small smile forming on her face. "He's been around a few times since his days as one of this temple's students…I have only had contact with him once, but I would recognize his signature of work anywhere."

"Do any others know?" pressed Amanda, leaning forward slightly.

"No," replied Moonstream firmly. "They do not."

"Oh, good…"

"I will keep your secret, and make your connect between the three of you more secure." She spoke a few words and made a motion like pulling a thread from a spool. Amanda felt the tug of her magic being pulled from her, then added in a web like pattern to the other two. 

#Hey, what was that?!# demanded Lyssa, her tail shaking as she tried to control her temper. #Give a girl a little warning next time, will you?!#

"Hey, I can hear her!" cried Ben in surprise, even though he was a foot away from her. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome, young one," said the Dedicate with a serene smile. "Please, go back to yours hosts. But remember, you will always be welcome at Winding Circle no matter what."

"Our thanks," said Amanda, rising to her feet slowly before bowing respectfully to the Dedicate. She flashed a smile, Ben already halfway back to Discipline at a dead run. "If you ever need anything from any of us, just ask. We owe you that much after the help you have given us."

Moonstream nodded, rising and leaving through the other side of the circle. Amanda shrugged and followed her brother, her and Lyssa chatting softly on their way back. It had been a very strange time indeed, and they both wondered how many more people they might meet up with who knew of the existence of their 'Master Mage.'

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Brenna felt the sweat beginning to pour down her face as she trundled along behind the horse, keeping the plow on track as best she could. Cheeks followed behind her, two sacks slung over his back as he picked out the biggest of the stones that she turned up from the ground. Sticking them in one back, he then turned and put down a handful of fertilizer from the compost heap in the back. What was in it, he didn't want to know, but all the mattered at the moment was that it would help the plants that would be sown in that field very soon. 

They had gotten lucky, or so Brenna thought, three of the fields had been sown with early corn that was already growing by the time they got there. This they were planting was late wheat that would be harvested right before the first frosts. The corn would be in well before that, though how they were going to harvest it and get it to town was still beyond them. 

"How many…more rows?" asked Brenna, taking a swig from the water skin that hung beside her on the plow. "A guesstimate…"

"I'd say another twelve or so," replied Cheeks, considering the few lengths left before they reached the corn. "Maybe ten, you want to leave a space so you can walk between them, you know."

"I know…I know…" Brenna grimaced as she felt another blister forming on her hands. Already she'd had one on each thumb, and a few on the palm of her hand. Now she was getting them on the pads… Oh well, Kaitlin would just bandage them up as she always did and they'd be all right again.

"How much longer…would you say…?"

"At least until sun down." Cheeks lifted a few more stones into his bag before chucking out a handful of compost, stirring it in some with the hoe he carried. 

"Sun down!!"

"Getting tired?" asked Cheeks with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"No!" replied Brenna, pushing the plow with renewed vigor. It ran out a few strides later. "Well…yes…"

"So am I, so lets keep moving so it'll get done before then."

"Ok!!"

Cheeks sighed. He didn't mind being away from home, and definitely not living in a houseful of women, but Brenna could be strange sometimes…

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna smiled at the wind gently riffled through her hair, the setting sun lighting the sky with colors only dreamed off. first, a golden light that waned into a bright orange, then into a deeper and richer tone that eventually took on the shades of red. A pink tinge on the edges of it as always, the very core of its color began to fade as the red melded into a vivid purple. Eventually, the purple itself began to wane and in turn became the inky, blue-black blanket that covered the sky. 

She watched it all from a stone by the sea, content to listen to the waves since there wasn't the time to fully enjoy a dip in them. The ocean was something she'd always liked, even back on earth, but without the noise or the trash, all signs of civilization gone; it had taken on a look she'd never thought about before. The beach she walked on was in its completely natural form, one that had never been tampered with by man, one which was owned by none and claimed by none so it could just simply be. 

"Are you staying out here all night?" asked a quiet voice, someone setting a plate beside her with dinner on it. "It's going to get colder very soon, and you forgot your cape…"

"I will be in soon, Randy," she replied, picking at the food lightly. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda carefully ran a rag with polish on it over the body of her lute, cleaning each and every piece she could get to until it shone as best as it could. The strings were re-strung and tuned to a perfect pitch, then laid away in a box to the side where it would wait for the day when it would next be played. 

She left her bedroom on the bottom floor, the one nearest to Rosethorn's workshop, which she happened to share with her brother and friend as well. Since they'd come here, he didn't feel comfortable being very far from her at all and sleeping in a different room at night was out of the question entirely in his mind. 

"Briteyes, do you mind setting the table?" asked Lark, chopping some vegetables and lettuce together for a salad. "Just plates, forks, and cups, if you will. Oh, and a mug for Rosie's spot, she will need her tea when she gets in from the meeting the Air Temple officials."

"Another one?" asked Amanda in surprise, getting the cups, plates, and forks from their proper shelves and drawers. 

"Something about a bird someone found, and who's responsibility it is to raise it…"

"Oh, I see."

Ben came huffing in right then, a basket in either hand filled with either bread, fruit, or packs of meat and cheese. "I'm back…from…the kitchen…" His mouth had a smudge of icing about it, and his sister could tell he and the squirrel riding on his shoulder had been fed by Gorse again.

"Good," said Lark, taking them from him with a smile. "Go wash up and get ready to eat, dinner will be ready soon."

"Ok!"

"Been pilfering bits of sweets again?" asked Amanda, poking the squirrel's round stomach with a grin. "Not that I blame you, but we're gonna be showing you as a side show freak soon when you become the world's fattest rodent!"

#I would prefer to say 'roundest'…# Lyssa laid back lazily, not even bothering to protest as she was set on the table.

"You'll have that one too."

"It is nice of you to stay this long with us, dear," said Lark, giving one of her famous smiles as Amanda arranged the meat and cheese on a plate.

"We're glad to stay," replied Amanda. "Even Silven will agree that staying in Discipline is better than sleeping under the open skies most nights. Especially later on in the season."

"You're sure you have enough to get by in the lean season?" asked Lark, a hint of concern creeping in her voice. "If you need to, you can always go back to Summersea for a few days to make what you can there, or we could arrange for you to stay here for the winter…a mage of any type has a use, you know." 

"I know," replied Amanda with a shrug. "It is very kind of you to offer, but I really don't think we can stay…we have other business to attend to, as I've said every time before."

"Ah, but you've never said what type," said Lark, a twinkle in her eye. "Perhaps a special someone…?"

"No," replied Amanda quite simply. "If you want to know, we're tracking down old friends. We all…grew up together…sort of. The main thing is, though, to find them all again."

"I understand that," said Lark with a sympathetic smile on her face. "We will miss you and Scamp when you are gone, though."

"And we will miss you two, as well."

"Hey, let's eat!!" cried Ben, bursting into the room with his skin still pink from the recent scrubbing it got. 

"Alright, alright," said Amanda, sitting at the table on one of the benches, Ben beside her and Silven between the two of them on the table. It was almost like they had a family again. Albeit, a small one that they had only had a short while. But living like this had given them warmth and security that all three were loath to give up, and finding the resolve to leave again was something Amanda knew she was going to have trouble with in the end.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia sat across from her teacher; a fire-starter mage with blood red eyes and hair was orange as flames themselves. "You think you are strong," said the old man, looking her straight in the eye. "Don't you?"

"I am strong," replied Olivia. "There is nothing to think about it. It is what I need to be."

"You think you're invincible, don't you?" went on the old fellow with a wry grin. "Don't you?"

"I know I can overcome anything this life throws at me," replied Olivia, her eyes as hard as ice and just as cold. "There is nothing that can break me, nothing that can take away myself from me."

"That is where you are wrong," said the mage, a frown covering his face. He surrounded himself with fire, a flame that danced in the air and on the cushions but did not leave a scorch mark on it itself. "It is not about strength. It is about control. Do you think you have control?"

"Of my life or of my magic?"

"That is a very good question. Here is another: do you have control over either one at all?"

"I…I don't know." Olivia blinked, trying to sort through the thoughts that swirled in her head. "I control my behavior…my reactions…my thoughts and feelings…but the path of my life itself is something that is out of hands right now. At times, anyway."

"Your magic, though?"

"I have control of that," said Olivia, forming a ball of ice before herself. It hung there in midair, spinning slowly. "As much as any other ever could."

"Then form ice about this," said the mage, holding up a heat crystal. "Without touching it, and it has to happen spontaneously or it will crack and break apart."

"I can do that," said Olivia confidently, taking it from him. She put just enough ice around it to levitate it in the air above her hand. She concentrated for a moment, building everything into a single point of work…then…

*crack*

Olivia looked in surprise at the bits of glass embedded in her hand, the blood slowly dripping onto her lap. "I…"

"You were too confident of yourself," said the mage, a knowing look on his face. "Another thing, it is not knowing your objective or your so called 'enemy', it is knowing yourself and your own limits. Do you understand now?"

"I…think so…" replied Olivia, touching the glass in her hand almost as if to make sure it was real. 

"Good," said the fire mage, standing and tossing a rag on her hand before leaving the room. "Tell the blonde one that her assignment is to heal you without a scar. I will see you in the morning." He left the room, leaving Olivia to deal with the wound herself and think over the words he'd said.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda slowly opened her eyes, the late morning sun flittering through the screen to play across the three of them gently. Ben lay with his arms and legs sprawled everywhere, using her stomach as a pillow. Last she remembered, he'd been on the floor when she'd come in that night. Apparently that hadn't lasted long, and they'd both gotten in so late…

*flashback*

Things had started early, right after the noon rest period finishing a few performers from the troupes that had come in and Dedicates themselves getting set up and starting their acts. The Air Temple had had several things with birds, and the Fire Temple a show of weapons skills by their well-trained guards. 

_Amanda and Ben had been granted a bit of space among the younger folk, Ben doing tumbling tricks and playing his tamborine as Amanda kept the music flowing from her well-polished lute. They'd kept a good-sized crowd most of the night, coppers tossed at them occasionally when they'd perform one of their more daring feats. That had lasted until sundown or so, when most of them were called to the Hub. A huge fire was lit there, a dance of celebration going on around it. Ben joined it with the younger folks, easily picking up on the steps as he moved his feet and arms in time with the music. Amanda easily picked the tune up herself, joining the musicians and dancers with a will. An air of general good-natured-ness prevailing over all._

_Slowly, little by little, the young ones were sent off to bed and the Dedicates and oldest of the novices began to break off into little groups. Ben getting tired as well, she'd sent him with Silven back to the cottage to sleep. That had been close to midnight, and both had been more than happy to comply. The novice they'd met before, Tanya, had found her and invited her to join several others their age by a fire in the back._

_Singing and telling stories for the rest of the night with those students and novices there, she'd finally stumbled home around dawn to find Lark asleep at the table and Rosethorn making a pot of tea. She'd gotten a scowl for staying out that late, but it was one of worry more than anger and Amanda had simply apologized before heading to her room and falling asleep straightaway._

_*end flashback*_

"You awake?" asked Ben, feeling her shift under his weight.

"And if I am?" asked Amanda, closing her eyes for a moment to just enjoy the morning-that-was-closer-to-noon sun. 

"Then it means I have to get up." The boy heaved himself out of bed, catching Silven as she fell of his shoulder where she'd been soundly asleep.

#Hm?# She looked around herself and yawned. #What's going on?#

"We're getting up," said Amanda, feeling her throat constrict suddenly. "And getting ready to leave."

"Not today, do we?" asked Ben, looking at her with large, round eyes. 

"We do," replied Amanda steadily, slipping behind the screen to change into her old clothes. "Get dressed and get packed, we need to leave right after we get something to eat."

"Are we going to say goodbye?" asked Ben suspiciously, pulling his shirt over his head as he left the borrowed clothes in a pile by the bed. 

"Yes, we are," replied Amanda. "That's the only way we can get the supplies from Gorse, remember?"

"Oh yeah…"

"You're up," observed Rosethorn with her wry grin, sitting down to lunch with Lark as the trio walked out of their room.

"Finally," said Lark, teasing them mercilessly about sleeping in so late. "Thought you'd never wake up, lazy bones. I bet a hurricane could've passed over head and the three of you wouldn't have budged even when the very roof over your head fell down on you!"

"You're probably right," admitted Amanda with a grin. "Where's those packs from Dedicate Gorse, though, we need to get going…"

"We know," said Rosethorn, pointing to them in the corner with her spoon. Amanda was taken aback by their willingness to let them go. "We talked about it this morning, and you need to get on with this search of yours if you're to ever get some more money before the lean season and find those who you're looking for."

"We just have one request," added Lark.  "Promise you'll come back and visit if you're ever in Summersea, for there will always be a place open here for you."

"'We' or 'I'?" asked Amanda, a mischievous look on her face.

"We," said Rosethorn. "I never thought I'd see the day I'd admit to missing a rodent and a Scamp, I must be getting soft…"

"Then we will," promised Amanda, gathering up the packs and putting them in her bag. 

"Bye, Lark," said Ben, giving her a hug. He turned to Rosethorn, but stayed a respectful distance away. "Bye Rosethorn. Thank you for letting us stay with you like this."

"You're welcome, Scamp," said Lark. 

"Stay outta trouble, understand?" added Rosethorn.

"We will," replied Amanda, finding everything to be in its place and heading for the door. "So long!"

"Take care!"

"Good riddance!"

"Rosie…!!"

"Alright, alright…bye!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kaitlin and Rupal sat side by side in the good-sized kitchen, several papers spread out before them with figures and calculations covering every inch that could be seen. 

"That can't be right," said Kaitlin, going back and starting all over again. "No, seriously, there has to be something we're not accounting for. I don't care how nice the guy is, he wouldn't just give us-"

"He gave Amanda a whole fief, remember?" cut in Rupal, shrugging her shoulders as she chewed on the end of her pen thoughtfully. "But you're right, though, it does seem like a bit much…"

"A BIT?!" cried Kaitlin. She smacked herself in the head with her palm. "If you're 'new knowledge' and these figures are right, we could forget about the farm, sell the whole thing, and live comfortably in some town for the next three years, easy, four or five if we planned it out and maybe even longer if we saved and scrimped on every penny that we had."

Rupal frowned, comparing the pieces of paper for a moment. "I know, but we went over it three times, and got the same thing each time…"

"I still can't believe that this is it, though." Kaitlin sighed, resting her head on her hands. "He didn't seem like that nice of a guy…"

"You never know." Rupal stood up and straightened her back, stretching out for a moment before pouring herself some juice from the pitcher. 

"What's wrong?" asked Brenna as she stuck her head in the door. "Something the matter that I need to know about?"

"Just a disagreement on how much we have," replied Rupal.

"Too little?"

"Too much!"

"What are you disagreeing about that, though?!" demanded Brenna. "Just take it and be happy!"

"We're not even sure if it's right…" started Kaitlin.

"I am," stated Rupal. "I've done it three times without any deviations. It cannot be wrong."

"Plan as if we have ¾ of it or so," suggested Brenna. "Then, if you're right we have extra. If you're wrong, hopefully it wasn't by that much."

The two tired young ladies glanced at each other and shrugged. They didn't really care anymore; they just wanted to get it over with. "Fine."

"Or maybe you could-"

"We've got it, just go and leave us alone!!" cried the pair at the same time, scaring Brenna to the point of her curly hair standing on end.

0.o "Ok…I'm leaving…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Libby was surprised to see two girls her own age, or maybe a bit younger, walking up to the door carrying a basket each. Both were fairly short, one just barely taller than the other but not by any truly noticeable length. They couldn't be more than an inch or two over five foot, she figured, and headed in from the barn to see who they were.

*two girls*

"You know, mum's not going to be too happy about us putting off visiting them this long…" said the shorter of the two, a young woman with long, brown hair that was tinted blonde and red from the sun. 

"And how's she going to find out?" pointed out her companion, eyeing the other girl suspiciously. "Unless you plan on telling her…" She brushed her bangs from her eyes, her brown hair just coming to her chin with the same tints from the sun. Both had the same cornflower blue eyes, and were fairly pale. The shorter had a few freckles over her nose, but other than that they were relatively the same. 

"Oh, no! I was just saying…"

"Save your talking for the new folks," said the second girl, walking up the steps lightly. "They might actually care."

The first girl frowned, knocking on the door. "Ouch…you're getting better at that, sis."

Her sister smiled smugly. "I know."

"Can I help you?" asked Kaitlin, opening the door with her foot as she wiped her hands on a towel. The moment all three of them laid eyes on each other, the earth trembled and thunder rolled overhead. Lightening flashed and the very air itself was alive with the connection that was forming between the three.

Kaitlin looked very, very confused. "What the heck?!"

"I have no idea," admitted one of the girls.

"That's very strange…"

"Do you want to come in?" asked Kaitlin, cocking her head to the side. "Or do you have a fetish with staying out in the cold rain?"

The girls exchanged glances. "We'll come in."

"Ok!"

The three of them went to the kitchen; Kaitlin going back to her pathetic attempt at candle making while the other two unloaded their baskets on the counter. 

"We brought you some bread, cake, doughnuts, and jam!" said the one with the longer hair.

"And some of pop's cheese, fresh ale, and a package of sugar…"

"Thanks," said Kaitlin, looking surprised as she nearly burnt herself with the hot wax. "Eesh…uh…who are you guys anyways."

"That's Alexandra," said the one with the shorter hair, pointing to the other girl. "Generally knowing as Alexa, Lexie, Lex, Ally, and Lexa…but Alex is just fine."

Kaitlin looked very confused again. "Ok…"

"And that's Jessica," said Alex, pointing to the girl who'd introduced her. "Also known by Jess, Jessie, Felix, and…and…Lix or Lixie, I guess. But we just call her Jess most of the time."

"Right…" said Kaitlin, giving them her 'who the hell are you?' look.

"And together…" They linked arms, smiling at her brightly. "We're the Bradson twins!!"

"Ok…" Kaitlin gathered herself together, figuring they couldn't be any more dangerous than the twins looked. "Well, I'm Kaitlin, and only Kaitlin. I've been called many things, but that's the only one that actually goes with my name, since it is my real name, so…yeah. And with myself," she posed dramatically, looking like a female superman. "I make…KAITLIN!!"

The twins froze and looked at her. "Man…she's worse than us," whispered Jessica.

"Yeah, I know…"

"I am not," pouted Kaitlin, going back to her rather…feeble attempts at candle making. "I'm just…uniquely odd, that's all."

"Ok, then," said Alex with a shrug. "I never said it was a bad thing."

Jessica snorted. "Says who?"

"Jess!!" Alex glared at her twin.

"Alright, alright…sorry about that." Jessica shrugged, brushing her bangs out of her hands with a wry smile.

"No hard done," said Kaitlin, smiling as always. "At least you don't slap me around like everyone else does most of the time."

"Why don't you slap back?" asked Jessica, smacking her fist into her palm. "You know, show 'em who's boss?"

"They're bigger than me."

"Oh…"

The three of them paused, all looking at each other oddly. Suddenly, Kaitlin grabbed a knife and a lantern, grinning manically. "Wanna go create massive amounts of chaos with whatever we can lay our hands on?"

The other two matched her grins and grabbed a knife and a lantern as well from their baskets. "Alright!!!" They threw back their hands and laughed together, letting it echo through the house before grabbing some capes and racing out the door.

"You know," commented Alex as they ran down the road shouting like mentally inane barbarians. "You may be odd, but you have a good idea now and then."

Kaitlin grinned. "I try."

*back at the house*

Brenna stuck her head in the kitchen, finding Libby huddled in one of the corners with a terrified look on her face. "Um…Lib? Why are you-"

"THERE'S THREE OF THEM!!" screamed a petrified Cheeks, running in the kitchen and rounding the table at a full sprint. "NOO!! PLEASE, GOD, NO, NOT THREE OF THEM!! ANY THING BUT THAT!! IT CAN'T BE TRUE!!  IT CAN'T!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-" ***SMASH* **

"Ow…" Brenna went and put a blanket over Cheeks, where he fell, making sure he didn't leave a dent in the wall where he'd run head first into it before moving on to Libby. The girl had entirely passed out, and Brenna spread a blanket over her as well since she didn't feel like dragging either one to their bed at that moment. "I wonder what's gotten into those two…"

"What happened here?" asked Rupal, coming down from her study with a surprised look on her face. "I heard someone yelling…"

"I don't know," said Brenna, shrugging her shoulders as she nudged Cheeks with her toe. "Something must've scared 'em…"

"Hey, Brenbren!!" yelled a familiar voice, Kaitlin bounding into view, covered in mud and weeds with two girls bearing the same maniacal grin on their faces right behind her. "Look!! I made some friends…"

Rupal and Brenna glanced at each other before taking out the back door as fast as their legs would carry them. "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

*falls over laughing*

Ok, ok…Manda has had WAY too much sugar right now…hehe. ^_^

Anywho, there it is, be a dear and review, and I LOVE YOU ALL JUST CUZ I DO!! *sniff* Hmm…who gave Manda chocolate…hm, I wonder…it was…NO ONE!! SHE BOUGHT IT HERSELF!! MUAHAHAHAHAH- *choke* *gasp* *wheeze* -HEHAHAH!!

Please review!! Authors on sugar highs REALLY like those!! Much love to you all!!

May penguins bow before you and porpoises never bite you,

~Crosseyedbutterfly~


	5. 

SAT Test *sobs* AP English Test *sobs* AP Psychology Test *sobs* Finals in a month *sobs* When is it all going to end…?! *sniffles*

Anyways, here's the chapter. Bon Appetite!

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Silven jumped back and forth between the two humans, chattering away in Amanda's ear for a few minutes before getting a smart comment from Ben about her size and going to give him a bonk on the noggin. Usually finding herself frustrated with the fact that it felt like a tap to him, and that she couldn't stay still as he continued to run, skip, and do cartwheels along the path, she'd jump back to Amanda's shoulder and smolder there awhile before chattering away again. 

Together, they were traveling East from Emelan, well into Sotat as of a few days ago and making good progress as they continued on. Each human carried a small pack besides their usual one, filled with dense bars of grain and fruit and strips of dried beef in case they couldn't find a place to sleep for the night. That rarely happened, though, and they still had a majority of their original supply as they paid for their meals and beds with a couple of songs and made some pocket change in market places along the way. 

Neither one was really sure where they were headed, or where they'd been, but they figured they'd keep going through this country until they got tired of it and would head back to Summersea and Winding Circle again.

"Are we stopping at the first farm house we see, or going on to the next town?" asked Ben curiously, seeing the sun was an hour or so from setting. 

"Go on, I suppose," replied Amanda with a shrug, picking out some chords on her lute with a slight grin. "The last two nights have been nice, meeting families and all, but our emergency cash fund is gone, and we might be able to pick up some extra coins in town."

#You are referring to playing, right?# asked Lyssa, remembering last time when she'd been used as a side-show-freak type act in the streets. 

"Oh…I dunno," said Amanda, a sly look crossing her face. "We could always dress you up again and get you to tell people's fortunes…OW!!" Amanda rubbed her ear where she'd been bitten, glaring at the squirrel who'd retreated to the relative safety of Ben's shoulder. "Little rodent…probably gave me rabies or something…"

#I did not!!# said Lyssa indignantly, sticking her tongue out at her. 

"How do I know?" asked Amanda, sticking her tongue out right back. "For all I know you could have fleas or lice by now…probably some worms or other parasites crawling around on you too…"

"Hey, there's a sign!!" said Ben, running up and making out the worn words with the help of his hand on the old board that had been tacked on a tree. "Dojda…we must be near it, Manda!"

She smiled at him, trying not to laugh at Lyssa who was hanging precariously on his arm. "Then let's go!"

They came to the town about a half a mile later, one large enough that Amanda had little trouble securing them a place at an inn for the night. "Here's a token," said the Innkeeper, flipping it to them from his spot at the door. Amanda caught it carefully and tucked it in her belt pouch. "That guarantees you a room for a night. If you and that little Scamp there can perform as well as you say you can, then room and boards on us and we'll only ask for a half of your tips, ok?"

"Ok," agreed Amanda, knowing it was the best deal she was going to get on such short notice. "We'll be back before sunset."

"You'd better be," called the man after them, an odd look on his face. "Or I'll give your room to another customer!"

"I know, I know…" Amanda waved him off, talking quietly with Ben as she set up on a large rock at the corner of one of the streets nearby. She sat on top, Ben standing at her feet with the bowl they left at next to him on the rock. Together, he sang while playing the tambourine and she provided the melody on the lute. Lyssa scampered between the two, acting like any other 'well trained' pets and doing tricks for young folks from time to time. 

"How much did we get?" asked Amanda when their time was up, leading the way back to the inn. Lyssa sat on her shoulder tiredly, her tail as limp as the rest of her as the squirrel struggled to not close her eyes. 

"Enough," replied Ben with a smile. "Not as large a haul as sometimes, but enough to get us through for the next couple weeks if we can make it out without paying tonight."

"We will," Amanda assured him, handing the token to the serving girl who came to get their orders. Sitting by the fire, she pulled out her panpipes and began to warm them up for when she'd have to play. Ben beside her on the floor, and Silven in between the two doing little jumps and dances in time to the music, they played together a simple duet woven together with a dash of Amanda's magic to give everyone a feeling off happiness and rest. Not enough to affect their minds, subtle so it was hardly noticed, she felt the relaxed atmosphere and smiled as the innkeeper nodded to them in content. 

"Take a break and eat," said Amanda as they finished the tune, trading the pipes for her lute instead. "I'll go after you."

Ben nodded, picking up the plate that was set beside him. "Thank you, ma'am."

"You're welcome, little'un," said the cook, putting some bread down as well and tumblers of ale for them both. "You be lookin' a bit on the thin side, little'un, so if you be needin' anything, you just come tell ol'Marva, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Ben, ducking his head slightly. Amanda thanked her as well and began to play again, humming along softly as the lively tune danced her fingers across the strings in the flickering light. She didn't mind moving about so much, and enjoyed the time she got to spend performing. In her opinion, their life like this was perfect. All it had to do was never change.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Libby hauled load after load of manure from the barn, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she finally dumped the last bucket onto the pile in the far, back corner of the yard. Brenna appeared a few moments later, dragging bushels and bushels of weeds after her. After she put them on the pile, she looked at her hands in surprise. Little tickles of blood ran from them where thorns had been driven into her palm.

"Crap…I'm going to have to start wearing gloves or something…"

"Not as bad as mine," said Libby, showing her hands. They were covered with blisters and bleeding from a few, the redness of the flesh making Brenna wince in sympathy.

"Ouch…" 

Libby snorted. "You're telling me."

"Have you had Kaitlin look at it yet?" asked Brenna. "She found some stuff that helps with the pain…"

"Yeah, but the only time I have to go see her the twins are around, and I'm not going anywhere near them," replied Libby firmly, taking out a handkerchief and wrapping it around her hands. "Anyways, why are we piling up this stuff again?"

"Because it'll make good compost for this next year," explained Brenna for the third time that day.

"Compost?"

"Fertilizer," amended Brenna, wiping the sweat from her brow. "The stuff we put in the garden and with the crops to help it grown better."

"Oh, you mean like plant food?" asked Libby, a light bulb appearing over her head. 

"Yeah, sort of." Brenna smirked suddenly. "Although, I dare say I've got the better end of the deal. I only have to drag weeds to the pile, you get to haul around horse crap…"

"Hey!!" Libby pouted. "It's not my fault they poop so much, maybe we should put them on some drugs so they're not so…poopy."

"Dear," said Brenna, shaking her head with a grin. "You can't do that, it's just the way they are. At least you're not going and getting the cow dung from the fields where they eat all day or the sheep and goat field to get their muck from the ground. And it's not like you have to haul it far, either…"

Libby just gave her a look and stalked back to the barn, growling as she did the whole way. Brenna shrugged and walked away. Oh well, at least she didn't have to haul horse crap around…

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna growled at the shopkeeper who eyed her lazily, her eyes flashing with an inner light. "Six silver crescents?! That's robbery!! No one in their right mind would pay that for two loaves of bread…"

"And yet my business continues to flourish," said the baker with a wicked grin. "Pay up, sweety, or get back to whatever rat hole you crawled out of this morning."

"Rat hole?! RAT HOLE?!!" Bryanna grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him until their noses where an inch apart with her teeth bared. "I SAID I'LL GIVE YOU THREE COPPERS FOR THE BREAD, OK?!! AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO GET PAID. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR????!!!"

"…yes ma'am…" The man quickly shoved the bread towards her after accepting the coins, skittering to the back of his stall to hide from view with his bottom lip trembling in fear.

"Impressive," said Randy as he took the wrapped loaves from her, placing them in his saddlebag that was slung over his shoulder with the rest of their foodstuffs. "I got the meat, and the cheese we have plenty of. Anything else?"

"Yeah," replied Bryanna with a nod. "These herbs and these fruits," she handed him the list with a grin. "Have fun."

"Wha-?! Where are you going?" he asked in surprise, wondering if some of the strange names he read on the list were even pronounceable. 

"To get some wine for along the way," she said with a shrug. "We won't be making an inn the first night, remember? And Olivia is always much more agreeable about sleeping on the ground when she's…influenced by other things."

Randy nodded in agreement. "That's very true. Just one wineskin, though, that should be enough for the three of us."

"I know."

They went their separate ways and met back up awhile later, Olivia waiting for them at the stables with the horses packed and saddled to go. "What took you guys so long? Come on, let's go."

"We're coming," said Bryanna, securing the wine and water skins to her saddle before mounting. Randy did the same, throwing the saddlebags over the back and tying them tight before following the two out of the courtyard into the city's streets. 

"Where to now?" he asked, covering his head with his hood so his neck wouldn't get sun burnt. 

"We'll figure it out as we go," said Bryanna, pulling out the map and taking the lead as usual.

"Not this time," said Olivia, taking the map from her hands and looking over it carefully. "Last time we did that we ended up where you wanted to go without asking either of us."

"Neither one of you wanted to lead."

"Well what if I to now?"

"Then be my guest." Bryanna dropped back, content to be the tail of the group for the time being. 

"Then I will," Olivia nodded to herself firmly before looking at the map intently. [Now how the heck do I read this thing again…??]

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Devan sat with his head propped in his hands, bored out of his mind as almost every single person he'd brought in had turned in early for the night. The only exception being Randy, and he was singing drunkenly to himself somewhere out in the woods and would probably pass out any minute now. 

"Hm…" he said, a sudden thought crossing his mind as he jumped from his seat and grabbed a spell book from the shelf. "I wonder what they all dream about…this could get interesting…" Saying a few words to himself, he popped out of sight and into the first dream he came to, a look of horror crossing his face. 

"AHH!!" 

Pink. Everything was pink. Pink trees, pink sky, a pond with pink lemonade…and then came the bunnies. Pink ones with white tails and pink eyes. And there was Libby lying in the middle of it all, smiling and laughing like she was having the time of her life. The horror…the horror… 

Devan pulled himself together and got out of there, jumping into the next closest dream he could get to. This time he found himself in a shady room, jewels and riches covering the walls of the place as the many little figures running around quietly placed them in their bags with a care that smelled of a thief. In the middle of them all was Brenna, her hair done in braids and dressed entirely in black as she directed the operation with a silent set of signs they used. The entire group moved as one, leaving just as quickly as it had come. 

"Creepy…" He shrugged and went on to the next, this time taking care that it wasn't Libby's that he was popping into. 

This time he was the size of a small rodent, looking around in awe as a Mouse ran by, chased by others he recognized. "Mouse?! Mouse!! Where are you, we need to start practice…"

The little Mouse squeaked in dismay and alarm as she tried to get the attention of those looking for her on from floor but nearly got flattened, running as fast as she could for the nearest hole to hide in. 

"This is just strange," decided the mage, going on to the next as the Mouse tried to run after the friends looking for her again. "Ok…"

Devan appeared in the next and ducked as a dagger flew at his head, it's thrower frowning as the one she'd really be aiming at chuckled evilly. "Looks like we have a visitor…" The walls of the room were lined with swords, daggers, knives, and all sorts of torture devices he'd only dreamed existed…

"Eep…!" Devan didn't stick around to see what was going to happen next, seeing both were armed with many sharp, pointy objects and were intending to harm someone if not each other in the next couple of moments with them.

The young mageboy appeared in his workroom, sweating nervously as he sister looked up from her book. "Enjoy your trip?" she asked, demurely turning a page. 

Devan rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Not exactly…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Excuse me," said a young boy, tugging on the hem of Amanda's tunic as the trio made their way through another town square. "My Master and Mistress would speak with thee, if it t'would not be of any trouble, miss."

"Hm?" Amanda turned around, looking at the young one in surprise. "Master and Mistress, did you say?"

"Yes," replied the boy, nodding his head firmly. "Master Diem heard of thine performance last night at the Yate's Inn. He is quite impressed with thee and would speak with thee if given the chance."

#Ohh!!# said Silven, doing a flip on Amanda's shoulder. "A job, maybe?? Huh??#

Amanda shrugged slightly, so as the boy wouldn't notice. "Where is your Master, youngling?"

"Over there," he said. "Come, I will show thee." He turned on his heal and walked off, beckoning for them to follow.

"Ok…" They walked quickly through the crowds; dodging and ducking among the people at so swiftly rate that Ben had to trot to keep up. They came at last to a very nice restaurant, one of the few in town that was not crowded every night with customers and wouldn't let you in if you were not dressed properly. They bypassed the man at the door with a nod from the kid and kept right on going, finding themselves in a secluded corner where two people, a man and a woman, were enjoying a feast of a lunch.

"Mmm…" said Ben as his eyes zeroed on the food, his mouth beginning to drool just at the sight of it. 

"You must be the one they call Briteyes and Scamp," said man, rising to his feet slowly as they both bowed respectfully to him. His hair was long for a male, hanging just an inch or two from his shoulders with side burns and a bit of stubble on his chin. Around his thirties or so, his companion (who had to be around the same age) rose as well and curtsied to them, her chestnut hair gleaming in the light. Both were richly dressed and wore jewels of some sort or another, their rank apparent by that alone. "Well done, Tobias, go get your lunch, now." The boy ran off, giving them a quick wave over his head as he did.

"Yes, that is us," replied Amanda, bowing politely and flicking Ben so his attention way away from the delicacies long enough to do so as well. "You wished to speak with us, sir?"

"Yes, please have a seat," he said, handing Ben a plate and letting him dig in with all due haste. "I am Master Ernst, and this is my wife, Mistress Maggie. Tobias's father, the head of my household, came and spoke to me this morning of a young woman and her brother who'd performed at Yate's the night before. You sing, you juggle, you do tricks and bits of 'magic' the younglings love. He highly recommended you to hire on for a night or two during this week's celebrations as well, seeing as we are entertaining rather large groups of people each night from the surrounding area. What do you think of that?"

Amanda shrugged. "I'm sorry, Master Ernst, but I don't think much of it at all at the moment. Unless given reason to think otherwise, I'm fairly sure my brother and I could make a greater gain out in the streets performing with those who would pay us in tips rather than one who would give us shelter for the night and perhaps a few astrels for our troubles…"

"Is this enough to make it worth it?" asked Master Ernst, his wife, nodding in approval as he handed her a pouch of coins, her opening it to find it full of silver and gold crescents with a with a very silver astrels to boot. 

Amanda eyed the money, making sure not to show just how much she wanted the coins. "And for lodging and meals…?"

"We will provide for you as we would our other guests," said the Master with a knowing grin. "Does that satisfy you?"

Amanda and Ben exchanged glances. #Take it already!!# snapped Silven in her head. #This is a great deal…#

"We are satisfied," replied Amanda with a nod. "When do you wish us there?"

"How about now?" asked the man, motioning for another servant to come over to his side.

"Oh!" Amanda looked rather surprised. "Now is good…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kaitlin stood beside the oven, bowls of oatmeal raisin cookie dough and blueberry bread dough beside her on the counter. On the other side sat piles of bread and muffins, a few pies, and a cake for later that evening. Multitasking like she never had before in her life, she checked the cookies baking, mixed more batter, iced the cake with blue frosting and kept an eye on the door to the kitchen all at the same time.

Brenna stuck her head in the door just then, making sure Kaitlin's attention was elsewhere as she slunk over to the counter behind her back and rubbed her hands together in anticipation. What was she going to sample first…her hands began to inch towards a cookie and a muffin at the same time, preparing to make a dart for the door-

*THWAP*

"OUCH!!" Brenna rubbed her hand as Kaitlin came between her and the sweets, a wooden spoon in one hand and her butcher knife in the other.

"OUT!" ordered Kaitlin, giving her a very disapproving look. "You know the rules, no sweets until it's after dinner time…"

"Hey! Who made it possible for you to make these cookies?!" demanded Brenna. "Who's out there breaking their back just to get bread on this table for you to eat?!?!"

"Actually," said Kaitlin, tilting her head to the side. "Last I remembered, you made Cheeks do all the hard labor from now on because you didn't want to do it yourself so technically it's him…"

"Hey, I-"

"Oh, Cookies!!" said Cheeks, sticking his head in the door and grabbing a few. "Thanks Kaitlin looks like you have a use after all!"

"You're very welcome, Cheekums," she replied with an evil grin on her face. "Hehehe…"

"Hey, he gets some and I don't?!" cried Brenna. 

Kaitlin gave her and odd look. "You don't…"

"Why are you showing him favoritism here?! Is there something going on that I don't know about?!"

"Brenna, really, I don't think-"

"No one cares what you think, freshman, now let me-"

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY KITCHEN BEFORE I RUN YOU THROUGH WITH THIS!!" growing unusually tall as Alex and Jess appeared on either side of her with their usual demonicly angelic smiles.

"And we'll help her!!" they added cheerfully.

Brenna grumbled under her breath about mentally inane twins and their friends as she bared her teeth at them. "You've won this time, but next time…"

"What was that?" asked all three in unison, and eerie look in their eyes. 

"Nothing." Brenna glanced around, seeing the door was directly behind her and darted toward it as fast as she could. "Bye!"

"Ah, the power of scary triplets," sighed Kaitlin, staring off into space with a look of total bliss on her face before snapping back to the present. "Thanks guy!!"

"No problem!" said Alex, giving her a bright smile.

"Yeah, scaring your family/friends/whatever they are is quite fun," admitted Jess with a shrug. "Anyways, I saw a rather green Cheeks running for the outhouse just as we were coming in. What was that all about?"

"A special recipe of mine," replied Kaitlin with an evil grin. "Just regular sugar cookies…laced with laxatives…and some mild nausea inducers I found in the back of the pantry. Wanna help me make some more?"

"Alright!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia rode in the lead, a proud look on her face that she'd gotten them this far all on her own while riding a horse to boot. Granted, they'd had to turn around a few times, and there was that one incident where they'd traveled in a circle for a month…but that didn't matter, it was all in the past. Right now, they were about to ride into a noble's home that happened to be a Master mage and spend a week with them, something they were all looking forward too. Feasts for meals…hot baths everyday…servants to care for them for once…what was there not to look forward too?

"What did I tell you?" asked Olivia, waving towards the mansion behind her. "I can take the lead when I want to!"

"Yeah, and get us there a week late," muttered Randy under his breath. 

"Enough," said Bryanna, holding up a hand as they both prepared to get into it again. "We are late as it is, and our host will be waiting. Let's go." With that, she took the lead, other two following and exchanging silent threats behind her back until they were let in the main gate by the guards who stood there.

"Whoa…" They stared at the white marble home, decorated with silver and copper designs everywhere. Huge plants and trees shaded the walks and the windows, making it look like a paradise in the middle of a jungle of well-trimmed foliage. 

"Whoa is right," added Randy under his breath, dismounting quickly and helping the ladies from their horses as any proper gentleman might do.

"I'll take those, sah," said a lanky man, gathering the reins in his hands skillfully. "Ya things will be taken to yon rooms."

"Oh, thank you," said Bryanna in surprise, giving her mare a final pat before turning her over completely. 

"Come on," said a young lady, curtsying to them slightly. "His lordship and his lady will receive you over here." They exchanged glances and followed her at a distance, coming to an iron gate that led into the garden itself. Going inside it, they found a couple of tables and chairs scattered about in no real order in a private cove, which the members of the household might use at will. 

The lord of the house, a short fellow with a jolly, round cheeks and sparkling black eyes, got up and ushered them over to a low table with mats around it, bidding them all to sit as he settled himself back down beside his plump wife. They were both well dressed, but not the point of pompousness, and seemed very comfortable in their fine clothes despite the humidity of the afternoon.

"I see you've managed to make it at last," he chuckled, taking a sip of his wine as the other three were poured glasses and had it set beside them. "I trust your travels went well."

"Of course, milord," said Bryanna, nodding to him and his wife politely.

"You may call me Master or Lord Gabe, here," said the man, nodding in return. "And what might your names be? I knew you were coming from the letter you sent ahead, and that old coot who runs Light bridge gave me a list of names of those who were going out this year but I couldn't figure who it was that you might be."

"Pardon us for not doing so earlier," said Bryanna, ducking her head slightly. "I'm Bryanna. These are my companions, Randy and Olivia."

"And your types of magics?"

"Healing."

"Ice."

"Light."

"An interesting combination," murmured the mage to himself. "I wonder why they put you three together…oh never mind. For now, you shall be escorted to your rooms and be given something other than your student uniforms to wear to the dinner which shall be held tonight in your honor. And while you are here, there are only three rules: no Light bridge uniforms. I can't stand them personally. Two, have fun, relax, and have a heck of a good time while you're here! Three: if you fail to follow the first two rules, I will deem you a stick in the mud for the rest of your life. Fair enough?"

The three mages exchanged glances; getting the feeling that they were going to like this guy a lot. "Yes, sir."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda sat by the fire in Yate's Inn, doing slight of hand tricks for the youngsters gathered around her while Ben performed juggling acts and balancing feats for the rest of the crowd while Silven sat pertly on his head. They'd been kicked out after a day at Master Ernst's home, a mage who'd been visiting accusing her of bewitching the crowd into giving her money (which she'd not been doing at all). They, of course, had left with all due speed (taking their initial pay with them) and had ended up at Yate's with no trouble in the least. 

"Can you see it?" asked Amanda, moving her hands around and switching the coin back and forth between the two with a motion one of the magicians had showed her from Collin's Troup. "Where did it go…it's here!" She 'pulled it out' of a girl's ear, getting gasps of awe from the little ones as she traded it for a candy and gave it to the little one. 

"I's been magicked!!" she whispered to her friends, as she looked at the candy in rapt. "Maybe if I eat this under a full moon with some magic dust, it'll give me wings!! You think??"

Amanda shrugged. "You are welcome to try."

"I'm gonna have wings! I'm gonna have wings!!" The adults laughed as the little ones were hauled off to bed, Amanda gathering the small coins, balls, and candies she'd been using before picking up four small daggers the size of her palm from her bag and starting a juggling act she'd learned a few weeks ago. Beginning at a slow pace, she flipped a knife in the air and caught it in the other hand while tossing the second as well, adding a third and a forth a few minutes later. She flipped two in each hand for a moment, then went back to juggling all four, letting them flash over head in little patterns made by the dancing light of the fire.

Ben set himself up by a post in the middle of the room, Silven sitting on his head holding up a slice of bread in trembling paws. #You'd better not miss, Amanda…#

"Hm." All fore flew and landed in the middle of the bread, leaving them all quivering in the center up to the hilt. 

"Well done, Brite!" said Yate, coming over and clapping her on the back lightly. "By Mila…do you think you could do it with a larger blade?" He held up a bowie knife as long as her forearm, gleaming wickedly in the light.

"No," she said flatly, giving him a wry grin as she pulled the blades from the wood. "I'm not always the brightest crayon in the box, but I'm not stupid…there's no way I'm throwing that thing at their heads."

Silven scampered along the floor, running up Amanda's leg and landing on her shoulder with a scowl. Shaking her fist at Yate, she chattered something unintelligible to him with her fangs bared and ears flat on her skull.

Amanda just laughed. "I don't think Silven wants me to either."

"Aw, don't worry, you little rodent," said Yate, patting her affectionately on the head. "The children would be awfully disappointed if something happened to you, so we can't allow such a thing to occur."

Silven just stuck her tongue out at him, settling herself on Amanda's shoulder to sit for a while. 

"Break time, for these three!" said Yate's wife, bringing them the usual piece of chicken, bit of bread, and cooked vegetables with butter on the side. Silven ate of Amanda's plate, the three sitting in a circle by the fire.

"Thank you," said Amanda, giving her a bright grin before delving into the chicken hungrily. She preferred working with the common folks so much more than the nobles, even if she had been one before, they were easier to deal with most of the time. 

"Excuse me," said an odd voice, the accent one she'd never heard before as she glanced up over her shoulder. A thin man stood there, pale as a ghost with no hair and coal black eyes that seemed sunk into his head. He wore a livery she'd never seen before, but that wasn't even slightly odd, considering there were several towns she hadn't visited as of yet. 

"Yes?" said the performer, giving him a once over before scooting over enough that he could join their circle somewhat. 

"My Master has sent me out searching for performers who would wish to come and play at his court," said the man, his voice high and reedy with a nasal pitch to it that none of them had heard before. "If it would please the young lady, would she come with her little brother and pet squirrel to play for him?" He extended a scroll to her, keeping his eyes on the floor the whole time. She took it and looked it over, finding a map inside with some instructions and a formal invitation to come to a Lord Morllen's house by the next full moon. 

"Is there a reason for the date that has been set?" asked Amanda, Ben leaning over her shoulder as he left the actual negotiations to her as usual.

"Master's son's birthday is then," replied the fellow. "To the young lady, I swear, he will not try and keep you for the boy. He merely wishes for the best to come and play for such an honored occasion…"

"Why should we come?" asked Ben, frowning as he did.

#Something is not…I don't know# said Silven in Amanda's head. #He's not lying, I think. But he is giving me the creeps…#

"Come and meet Master," said the man, still looking at the floor as he swiftly rose to his feet. "If he does not please the young lady when she comes, she may leave immediately. Is that fair to the young lady?"

"It is fair," replied Amanda, nodding as he slipped back out into the night. "Looks like we're on the road again tomorrow…"

Silven sighed mournfully. #And I was just getting used to sleeping on something other than someone's shoulder…#

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Libby was up with the sun, gulping down the pancakes and bacon Kaitlin had made before trotting out the door on her way to the barn. Each of the cows had to be milked, and was the first thing she did the moment she arrived everyday. Sitting beside each one on a stood, she got every last drop from their udders (except for the one who had a calf, she needed to feed her young one after all) before putting the milk from the pail into the pans that lay in the cellar. 

Taking the pans from the night before, she skimmed their tops for the cream that had risen to the top and put it in the small keg beside the shelf. The rest of the milk, still chilled from being underground, went into a larger barrel with the rest of the skimmed milk that they eventually sold off to the neighbors so they could make their own butter and cheese with it. 

The smaller keg she took upstairs, leaving it by the back kitchen door for Kaitlin to churn into butter later that day. Or Cheeks would do it, depending on how lazy Kaitlin was feeling at the time and what Brenna needed him to do for the day.

Each of the horses then got a thorough grooming and let out into the pasture for the day, the water in the trough refreshed by the pump and their stalls mucked out with the dirtied straw and poop hauled out to the compost heap. The cows were let out soon after, their 'area' where they slept together in the barn was cleaned as well, and spread with fresh straw for that night. 

The goats and sheep where kept in the lean-to beside the barn and were set out in their little pens, each one wearing a collar with a bell so they could be found even when it was too dark to see. The young ones she checked over for any problems, then let them loose as well before going onto her bunnies.

Taking some grain and vegetables with her, she filled their water and food containers after making sure that they were as comfortable as they could be in their little home. Each was given a leather collar, and when she got around to it would have its name carved into it so she'd know who was who since they all looked relatively the same.

Then came the chicken coup, where she went and collected every egg she could find in half the left coup, leaving the ones in the right alone since the cocks were over there as well and they'd have a nice group of chicks come next nesting time. 

"Hello, Libs!" said Kaitlin with a grin as Libby went inside, her shirt damp with sweat and her hair clinging to her neck. "I so envy you sometimes, playing with the animals in the barn while I'm stuck here slaving away in the kitchen…"

Libby rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna watched from a corner of the banquet hall, watching Olivia as she descended the steps of the noble mage's home. They had enjoyed their week with the jolly little fellow, and it was their last night here with a special banquet/ball thingy in their honor. 

Her reddish-brown curls had been pinned up behind her head, a few hanging beside her face in little spirals. Her dress was a beautiful burgundy velvet, which Bryanna had to admit looked beautiful on her. Gold and silver accents completed it to perfection, making the whole thing look much more impressive than it really was.

Randy's jaw hit the floor. He'd been waiting for her at the bottom of the steeps, his own black hose, boots, and tunic with a dark blue shirt all trimmed with black and silver giving him a cavalier look. He had been looking for Bry earlier, hoping to have someone to talk to, but she'd avoided him for just that reason as she felt like being alone for now. 

"Close your mouth," Olivia murmured to him as she reached the bottom of the steps and took his offered arm. "You look like a gaping fish."

"Uh…" Randy's mouth snapped shut. "You…uh…look wonderful." 

"Thank you," she replied, smiling at him for once. Bryanna continued to watch them in amusement as he asked her to dance. Together, they swirled gracefully across the floor as she saw Lord Gabe motion for her to come over and meet someone.

She left a niche with a wry grin on her face. Things were going to get interesting if those two decided to get cozy all of a sudden.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben sat side by side on the side of the road, playing the lute and a reed flute together in perfect harmony as usual. The music was a lively tune, not as fast as some of those that Amanda liked to play but quick enough that Ben's fingers all but danced up and down the holes as he played.

A few coins were tossed in their usual bowl, Silven keeping an eye on it for them and biting anyone who dared let their hands wander too close. The pickings had been slim since they'd left Yate's Inn, but they were fine. Between what they made and what they had left from the stupid noble's original offer, they had more than enough to make it to this Lord Morllen's place and maybe even enough to make it back if they decided they didn't want the job after all. 

"Don't you ever get sick of having human blood in your mouth?" asked Ben as Silven as she wiped off her fangs on his shirt after one such encounter which had broken through the skin. 

#Can't really taste it# replied the squirrel with a shrug. #Just like meat has lost most of its appeal as well, I used to love steak at one time…#

"Modified animal tastes?" he suggested with a grin.

#I guess#

"Let's go," said Amanda, rising to her feet as the sun began to set. "We're out in the field tonight, and we might as well find a safe place to sleep before it gets too much darker."

#Can't we get a room??# asked Silven pleadingly.

"No enough cash," muttered Amanda. "We still have a ways to go before we will get our 'big pay', remember?"

#Oh…#

They walked out of town and into the farmer's fields, bedding down in a haystack for the night.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Cheeks and Brenna lounged across from each other at the dinner table, the remains of their meal spread before them in the form of chicken bones, bread crumbs, and apple cores as they discussed that years harvest with Rupal and Libby. Kaitlin sat there as well, but was dead asleep with her head beside her plate and a line of drool coming from her mouth to pool on the table itself. 

"How's the crop coming?" asked the ledger-worm, having spent the better part of two weeks puzzling out the ones they'd been given to work with.

"Very good, as far as I can tell," replied Brenna with a nod. "Everything's green and healthy…the corn and wheat should be ripe a head of time and ready for harvesting…right Cheeks?"

"Sure," he replied, toying with a wishbone lightly. "I dunno how you know all that stuff. I do know your mom had a garden back home, but how the heck can you just know this much about farming?!"

"I have no idea," admitted Brenna with a grin. "If you asked me any question about why I did what I did, I couldn't answer it to save my life. But when it has to be done, I just know." She paused there for a moment. "I'm fairly sure that mage-dude had something to do with it, though."

"Yeah, it was probably the same thing he did to me, too," added Libby. "I had never even TOUCHED a cow before we came here. And the first morning here, I woke up and went out and milked them just as if I'd been doing it for years! I didn't even realize it at first, I was so out of it."

"Whatever," replied Cheeks, breaking the bone and deciding at least one of his two wishes would come true since he'd broken it with himself. "As long as he didn't screw with my brain, I'm fine."

"Well, Cheeks, dear," started Brenna carefully. "There's really not that much there to screw with…"

"…oh." He thought about it a moment. "Yeah, I guess that- Hey!"

"Just, kidding!" cried Brenna as he got up out of his seat, heading for the stairs to go up to his room. 

"Sure ya are…"

"No, really, I am!" Brenna bit her lip. "Cheeks, please come back…"

"Right. I'm going upstairs where I won't be molested with your words, thank you kindly." He shut the door to his room, and they could hear him rummaging around inside before settling down to do whatever it was the he felt needed done.

"How's the garden coming along?" asked Rupal, continuing to flip through the logbooks and ledgers before her. The question was directed at Libby and Brenna, who took care of it the most often."

"Fine," they replied at the same time.

"Everything is healthy and bearing well," elaborated Brenna.

"And we've gotten ride of the pest who were eating up the vegetables already," added Libby.

"How much do we have in savings?" asked Brenna, attempting to discreetly glance over Rupal's shoulder. It failed.

"Enough for now," she replied, closing the book firmly. "Hey, we had a deal, right? I take care of the money, you the farm, and neither of us tells the other how it's going until we have to, right?"

"What if I think you have to right now?" growled Brenna, leaning forward menacingly.

"Did you know your now purple eyes change to more of a gray when you're angry?" asked Rupal, entirely and completely undisturbed by the growling menace towering over her.

"Huh?!"

"I think I'll go to bed now," said the girl, smiling to herself as she gathered up her books and headed up the stairs before the now confused Brenna had time to react. "Good night."

"Wha- Hey! Wait a minute!!" cried Brenna, rising to her feet quickly. 

"Time to sleep," called Rupal over her shoulder, shutting herself in her room moments later, which was right beside Cheeks'. 

"Sneaky little…brat," muttered Brenna under her breath, casting an eye at the snoring Kaitlin. "Flip you for dragging her to her room, Libby."

"I guess…" She pulled out a coin and tossed it to Brenna, calling it as the farmer girl flipped in the air. "Heads."

Brenna lifted her hand. "Damn."

"Heh, have fun," called Libby, leaving the kitchen and going up down a hall to her left that led to the main room as well as her bedroom. 

"Some friends…" Brenna continued to grumble and mutter to herself as she lifted the unconscious girl up enough to clear her of the table and sling her over her right shoulder. Kaitlin's room was connected to the kitchen itself, so it wasn't a far walk from the chair to the room itself. The family cook didn't even move, so deeply asleep that she started to drool on Brenna without further hesitation and even shifted slightly so she would be more comfortable up there. "Awww…now I'm going to have to wash this shirt again!!"

"Mmm…" mumbled Kaitlin in her sleep. "Patch…blue and red aliens…dun get eaten…would make me and Auntie Mandie very sad…"

Brenna dumped the girl on her bed and covered her with a blanket. Noticing the trail of saliva on her shoulder, she grimaced and shuddered. She was going to have to remember to put something there next time so she didn't continually have these 'trails' on her clothes. 

 "Night, Kaitlin," she called, going to her own room high in the garret of the house. Things only kept getting busier around there that was for sure. Rupal was right about one thing, it was time to sleep…

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Ho, there!" called a high, reedy voice, bringing Olivia, Bryanna, and Randy to a stop by the side of the road. 

"Can we help you?" asked Randy, knowing that as journeymen they could not turn down a plea for assistance if they wanted to become Masters anytime within the next hundred years. 

"No myself, as the young man suggests, but for another," said the man, as pale as a ghost and Bryanna had to wonder for a moment if he was really alive at all. His accent was unfamiliar to them, his livery (for he was obviously a servant of sorts) was unfamiliar as well, and with his baldhead and sunken, coal-black eyes she could hardly repress the sudden chills down her spine. "My Master has sent mine self out to seek others like this young man and his pretty ladies."

"For what reason, though?" asked Randy, looking puzzled at the way the man spoke. 

"He that is my Master wishes that the finest of all the talents should come to visit him," replied the man slowly. "This young man and two young ladies are by far some of the best Apprentices or Students he that is my Master could hope to find. Is it the young man's wish that he and his companions come and meet he that is my Master, for it would please Him great," said the strange fellow, extending a scroll to them as he kept his eyes on the road below as he had done for the entire conversation. 

Randy reached out his hand to take the scroll. 

"No," said Olivia suddenly, grabbing his horse's head and dragging him far enough away so that he could not accept the parchment. "Just…no. We will not come see your Master." Randy sent her a puzzled look, though Bryanna's was one of relief as the man nodded and turned back to walk the way he had come.

"What was that for?!" demanded Randy, gaining control of his riding beast once more. "Olivia, that could've covered our extra expenses for a year, if not more…!!"

"Something was wrong about him," said Bryanna, looking the direction he'd disappeared for a moment before turning back to the road itself. "Come on, lets get out of here. It's beginning to give me the creeps."

Olivia shuddered involuntarily. "I know what you mean."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kaitlin and the troublesome twins stood at the edge of the Market in the small town, having traveled an hour to get there this morning.

"Which first, ladies?" asked Kaitlin with an odd grin on her face. "Mischief or our shopping?"

"Always shop first," said Alex immediately.

"Yeah," added Jess with an evil grin. "It gives the smart store owners a chance to get out of the way and us to get our things before all the booths are 'put out of business' for the day."

Kaitlin nodded in agreement. "That's a very good point. Let's go!" They went among the different vendors, Kaitlin getting the sugar, salts and herbs she needed for the farm's cooking needed and the twins getting whatever was on the list their mom had sent with them that morning. 

After rounding everything up and leaving their packages and purchases hidden in some undergrowth on the outskirts of town, they snuck back in and began to diabolically plan the 'accident' that would soon happen right in the middle of the town's Market square. 

"Got it?"

"Yep!"

"Sure."

"Hehe!" They grinned savagely at each other. "Let's go!"

Immediately they split up, each one heading for a different end of the Market place. Jess made her spot first, letting a harmless snake slip into a pen of goats from her pouch. Letting it hiss and slither around, creating a fuss among the animals, she slipped the gate's latch off  in the melee a let it swing wide open before sliding off into the crowd once more. 

The frightened beats stampeded through the square, wishing to put as much distance between them and the snake as possible without having any real idea of where to go. 

Then, Alex's part kicked into action. Waiting for the goats to come around by her, she'd cut all but the last binding holding a pile of harvested nut together. She slit it just as they went by, causing more chaos as they slid into the oncoming goat's path and caused many of them to slip and slide all over the place. They crashed into other stalls and such, making such a mess that all Kaitlin had to do was release the other animal's pen's latches as she ran by. 

The three met in the middle and laughed before flying out of town as fast as they could. Pouches of coins mysteriously wound up in possession of those who'd had damaged goods, but other than that, no one was really sure who had caused such a massive amount of turmoil in such a short time. 

"That was fun," said Kaitlin as they walked home down the long, dusty path. "Wanna do it again next week?"

The twins beamed. "Sure!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben stood wearing at the edge of the low lands, surveying the area before them with a touch of dismay. Three days ago the land had flattened out like this, the growth being limited to low trees and shrubs before dying away entirely to tall grass, and now this. 

They had left Sotat a week before that, and were well into Janaal, which was where the noble's house was. But why a noble would want to live in the middle of such a wasteland was beyond them. Everything was sunk in a deep swamp, one they never would've dared cross if it weren't so clearly marked with bright poles and stakes for them to walk between or small bridges to go over the higher ground. .

"Where are we going to sleep?" asked Ben, knowing from experience that there were only an hour or two of day light left.

"Says here there's a town a few miles down through here," murmured Amanda, peering at the sign that was planted at the edge of the swamp. Weighing their supplies and lack of shelter against going through the swamp and getting warm beds for the night, she shrugged. "We have little food, and no place to sleep, guys." 

#We can make it in time# said Silven, her tail twitching slightly as she mused over their options. #And I do want to sleep under something other than the open sky in such unfamiliar territory…#

"We go, then," said Ben quietly. "I don't want to, Manda. It's…creepy…" He scooted closer to her side, putting his hand in her own. 

"It'll be alright," Amanda assured him, hoping her words sounded braver than she felt. The dank gloom before them compounded with the failing light and her overactive imagination, it was not a good combination indeed. 

"What's that?" asked Ben suddenly, pointing to a huge gate between two steep cliff walls way off in the distance. It was hardly visible, and they still had many valleys to go through before they'd even get remotely close to it.

Amanda pulled out the mad, gulping slightly. "Our destination…the noble's manor."

#A wall like that makes you wonder# came Silven's voice, barely above a whisper. #There's nothing living here, Amanda. Nothing but that which feeds on other beings…#

"We don't have enough to get back home," replied Amanda, feeling her near-empty belt pouch. "In coins or supplies. We have to go."

She started forward, putting her arm around his shoulders for comfort and feeling Lyssa wedge herself back under her hair more than usual. "Let's go."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia banged her head on the table in frustration, half-molded models surrounding her on all sides. The original, a perfectly sculpted flame of ice, sat before her on a small pedestal while a small diagram in sand with chalk signs written around them surrounded the base.

"Why…why…?!!"

"Having some issues?" asked Bryanna, walking in the door of the room as she dropped her bag off on the bed.

"Shut up, wench."

Bryanna smirked. "I thought that remark was saved for Randy alone."

Olivia rubbed her throbbing temples gently. "How does rodent sound, then, seeing as you were once called Mouse?"

"Eh…whatever…what's the problem, though?"

"I can't get the sculptures to automatically reproduce themselves," said Olivia, showing her the diagram and her notes around in on the parchment she'd used. "I can shape ice, create it in a lump form, give it shape once its formed, etc…but nothing I make will ever be exactly the same as something before."

"And being able to do such would increase production," said Bryanna. "Mass production over singular creation for maximum profits."

"And least amount of energy used," added Olivia. "But I can't get it to work as of yet…" She rearranged the sand and chalk marks, setting herself in a trance as she needed to. Her power radiated around the sculpture on the pedestal, taking its shape and slowly going from the sculpture to the prepared place on the table. There the power solidified and slowly formed the wanted object, mages ice beginning to form…

"Come on you…!!"

*CRACK*

Olivia lost control, the image twisting out of its form and growing lumpy and strained. Sinking back down so her head rested on her arm as her hands crushed the spoiled image, Olivia sighed.

Bryanna picked up one of the trial runs, the misshaped lump of mages ice resembling more of a…lump of ice than a flame of sorts.

"I don't know what to tell you," she said with a shrug, tossing the ruined sculpture among the others. "That's more along Randy's line than mine."

"I won't ask him, though," mused Olivia aloud. "At least not yet. I want to try and get it on my own."

"Good luck," said Bryanna, scooping up some coins from her pouch. "I, for one, am going to go sample the inn's famous hard cider, spiced to taste and comes in a warm mug, I hear."

"I'm coming," said Olivia suddenly as she rose to her feet. She followed the younger mage out of room. "One more failed try and I think I might go mad…"

"And you aren't already?" Bryanna snorted.

"Shut up…rodent."

"…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

*Sighs* I am so dead…tomorrow is Mother's Day. And I have nothing done yet. Yes, I am most definitely very, very dead…anywho. In that case, this chapter is dedicated to *drumroll* MY MOTHER!! ^_^

She's never going to read this, but that's ok. It is anyways. Please be kind and review, and have a good Mother's Day!!"

'I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but at least I'm not the one that fell off the table and the dog chewed on. That one was 'blonde'.'

~Crosseyedbutterfly~


	6. 

*Blinks* Oi…school needs to end already. Anyways, much apologies for the wait, it was out of my hands. Please enjoy your chapter, and all that Jazz…yeah.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Gwen came darting into the band room, a French horn in one hand and a Baritone in the other. "She left me behind!!" she wailed, her short, wavy, black/brown hair bouncing up and down as she ran into the locker room and stuffed both instruments into their appropriate lockers. "Manda's gonna kill me for being late to help and Brenna forgot her instrument as WELL as to wake me this morning…so I had to go back and get that…"

"Easy, Gwen," said Jenny, glancing over her shoulder as she finished piling her shoes, markers, and flute into her locker. Her dark blue shirt highlighted her short, dark brown hair and pale skin with freckles. "Amanda's in a good mood, and you aren't late for practice or anything so I don't know what you were worrying about…"

"I was supposed to help in the uniform room," replied Gwen quickly. 

"Lyssa's here," pointed out Jenny. "So they probably didn't even need your help…"

"Where's Brenna and Libby?" asked Nicole, sticking her head in the room all of a sudden. Her hair reached her shoulder, brown and curly as Brenna's when she wanted it to be. Short and skinny, she looked like she should be a freshman instead of a graduated senior. 

"Obviously not here," said Gwen, locking her locker with a 'snap'. "Probably by the uniform room with Amanda. Come on, I have to go find them too." They went together to the uniform room, Gwen taking the lead and opening the door to find a young guy looking up from a leather book that Jenny was sure she'd seen sometime before. 

"Jack!" yelled Gwen, going and grabbing his collar as he looked up in surprise. "What are you doing in here?! You know only uniform people are allowed!!"

"I came to get my pants hemmed and no one was here, man!" he said, jerking out of her grip and adjusting his gold chain that she'd messed up so it hung right again. His black hair in cornrows, which he checked as well, and skin as dark as Jenny's was pale, he stood out in the crowd of mainly white kids that made up their band. "It ain't my fault 'Manda decided to skip out on her job, y'know." He motioned to the band trousers he was wearing, which went down well over his heals.

"Let him alone, Gwen," said Jenny, "What's that you're holding-"

Jenny was cut off as Nicole tripped into a stool and sent it crashing over, pushing her into Jenny who bumped into Gwen who grabbed Jack's collar and made him drop the book that resulted in the fated flash of light…

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Devan rubbed his hands together as he picked out the spells he wanted to use this time. Nothing ordinary, that was for sure. Hm…a little look changer here…a lost clan there…a shrinker spell and a powerful wind to go with it…

"Getting bored?" asked Grendal as he flipped through the pages of the huge volume, sending up dust with every turn.

"Not in the least," he replied, another wolfish grin adorning his face as he packaged it all up and set them off with a nod. "How could I when things are just starting to get interesting?"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Brenna and Rupal sat across from each other in the kitchen, the table crowded with ledgers and check ledgers and cross ledgers and charts and graphs and every other sort of thing a financial person might use to get a common person to understand what was happening with the money they had. 

"See this?" asked Rupal for the thousandth time, holding up a graph that showed how their income and spending varied from month to month. "You understand why we have to save for the winter months because we produce less and buy more during that time?"

"Yes, I get that," replied Brenna, nodding her head slowly.

"Ok." Rupal sighed; it had taken an hour just to get that concept across. "And do you understand this chart, which shows how much we spend and make during the summer, also showing the varying amounts we can save?"

"Uh…yeah…" Brenna furrowed her brow. "Sorta…"

"Math was never your strong point, was it?" asked Rupal, feeling like a harassed schoolteacher. "Hey, I grow stuff, I don't sell it," retorted Brenna. "I wouldn't even NEED to know this stuff if the tax people didn't insist that I do the finance stuff with them instead of you."

"That's only because you won't let me co-sign with the farm," countered Rupal. "Let me do that, and I can all make it go away…"

Brenna pouted. "But I wanna own the farm…"

"It's not like I'm going to sell it or anything," muttered Rupal. "Anyways, here's how much we made since we came here, this is what we gave already, and this is what we still owe." She showed three figures to Brenna in succession. "They may ask to see our crop ledgers, that's the brown and black book. If they want to see our tax records, it's the two red books. One's the regular, the other's the double check of it. I do the first one, and Cheeks or Libby usually does the second. If they don't balance the same, or the people see any discrepancies call one of us three and we'll work it out for you."

"Ok, the brown, the black, and the two reds," repeated Brenna, hoping she could commit it all to memory. "What we made, what we gave, and what we still owe, right? Ok, I can do this…"

"Good," replied Rupal. "Because we're screwed if you can't. People who screw with their taxes get put in jail and their property sold."

Brenna turned an interesting shade of red/white. Red for her anger, and white from fear of being accused unfairly.

"Moving on," said Rupal shortly. "This is our file of receipts, in dated order, here's a copy of them in amount order, and here's another copy in Alphabetical order by the name of the person who collected it, ok? Each one is labeled Dated, Amount, or By Name. Can you remember that?"

"Dated, Amount or By Name," repeated Brenna; trying to keep up with everything she was saying. "Files of tax receipts, just in case they want to check them against their records."

"Exactly." Rupal rummaged through the papers, coming up with a thick, bound leather book. "And this is the Master Records."

Brenna looked at the thing in awe. It had to be half a foot thick at the least, as big as her history book and as heavy as two. "Master Records?"

"It has a reference to everything in here," went on Rupal, showing her the 100-page index. "A cross-section of all amounts made, a transactions made, all acquired property records, and the like. You have to have a thorough knowledge of it before the meeting, because they might want to see something and you'll have to show them the exact page…"

"Here's the deed, sign here, and go to the meeting for me," said Brenna, whipping out the deed and a pen before getting Rupal to sign it and putting it in the master ledger book. "Ok, yea…bye." And she disappeared.

Rupal chuckled to herself as she put all the books and ledgers away, keeping out only a single piece of paper. She went to the door just as the usual tax collector came by. Showing him the single, signed paper with the deed, he nodded and accepted her bag of coins before moving on.

"That's that," she said to herself, dusting her hands and going back into the house. "Now where did Kaitlin hide those cookies…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Nicole shook her head as she slowly came to, Jenny calling her name from somewhere nearby. But where, she couldn't focus on anything. Moving slowly, she got to her feet and realized she had a staff in her hands. Looking at it, she realized something else. Her white skin was now a chocolate brown…

"AHHH!!"

"Huh??" 

Nicole felt something wrap around her and pick her up, but was so absorbed with trying to figure out what had happened she didn't even realize it until she was brought even with a really, really large face…

"I found her, I think," said a familiar voice, the face as dark as hers. Two other faces joined it, each just as large and as dark. One of them she recognized. "Jack??! Where are we, what happened?!" She paused for a moment. "And when did you get so big?!"

"I'm not big," he replied, glancing at the other two. "You just got really, really small…"

"Say what?!" 

"Dude," said Gwen, the large face she'd seen at first. "You're, like, six inches tall. And maybe not even that…"

"No I'm not!"

"Then why are you as big as my hand?" asked Gwen. Nicole looked down, realizing for the first time just who it was who'd picked her up.

"Oh my gosh…oh my gosh, no…"

"Breath, Nicole," said Jenny, who was the other face. "Breath, we need you with us right now, believe me, because I do not want to haul your six inch hide back to your mother…"

"I'm breathing," Nicole retorted, sitting with her head in her hands. "Why am I six inches tall and black? Will someone PLEASE explain this to me, because I am so incredibly lost…"

Jenny sat down on a log, Gwen sitting beside her and setting Nicole on her leg while Jack before them on the ground. "I think," she said carefully. "That we've been sent to another world." Her voice had a hopeful note to it, one Nicole had never heard before. 

"What's so good about that?" she asked grumpily. "And how do you know? Has some wizard blasted your mind with all this knowledge or something?!"

"No, but…look. A year or so ago, me and Alyse and Amanda and Brenna and a bunch of others where sent to another realm all together…in one of Tamora Pierce's books," said Jenny, trying to explain it to them as clearing as possible. 

"Tamora Pierce…" said Jack to himself. "That was the name of the author on the cover…"

"Then it was the same," said Jenny to herself with a grin. "Or at least…well, do you remember the title, Jack? Anything about it at all??"

"Something about Circle of Magic this or that," he replied lightly. "Not that I much cared, but it looked interesting and I had gotten bored reading so I figured there was no harm in looking it over…"

"Circle of Magic?!" cried Nicole as Jenny's face fell. "You mean to tell me we are in THE Circle of Magic?" She looked at all three of them, realizing each bore a staff with the same family symbols on it. "Holy cow, you guys, we're Traders…"

Gwen looked entirely confused. "Huh? All I know is I'm the opposite of Michael Jackson…"

"We're what?" asked Jack, finally decided he wanted some answers. "Alright, now that someone knows WHERE we are, will you explain it to me and how exactly we're going to get home?"

"I don't know!" cried Gwen, holding still only because Nicole was sitting on her lap. "It wasn't me, I swear!! Although, I do admit that the idea of being wherever we are rather than at home is rather appealing right about now…"

"I'll explain it as best I can," said Jenny, standing and straightening her tunic out of habit. She was dressed in sea boots, leggings, a full shirt and light tunic. All of it was in russet and light blue colors, an odd mixture of dark and light at the hems of her tunic where it was embroidered. Her ebony staff was similar to the others, the only different being a wave of wire at the edge of the top, signifying something but what she had no idea. 

Nicole and Jack were dressed the same, his cornrows still in place and gold chain tucked under his shirt. His, hers, and Gwen's staff were exactly alike, with winds and a bird flitting across on opposite sides. Gwen's clothes were different though, a simple but sturdy skirt with a long sleeved, full shirt that would allow her to move freely and a sash about it all. Around her shoulders was a short cape, with a hood that could be laced against the sea's high winds.

"You had the book," she said carefully, pointing at Jack. "It's a portal to another, realm, ok? When the book closes, everyone in contact with it is sucked in…"

"But how do we get home?" he asked, cutting in on whatever she had to say next. "A brother can't leave a lovely thang like Lylia hangin', y'know. She and I gotta date tonight."

"You'll get to that date," promised Jenny. "It just might take you…say…four years or so."

"FOUR YEAR?!" Jack went off on a round of curses and oaths that would make sailors blush, Gwen paying close attention for later usage. 

"Listen to me!" cried Jenny. "This is how it works, ok? Just a rough version, but, yeah. We do whatever the path laid out for us requires, live our lives and eventually meet up with the others, and then go home."

"What others?" asked Nicole, perking up some.

"There will be others who were sucked in," said Jenny confidently. "And one pair specifically chosen just to find us all and bring us all together."

"What happens then?" asked Jack suspiciously. "You said I'd make my date, Jen, but I'm not seeing how here."

"We go back to the exact time we were brought in," explained Jenny. "Or, sometime near to it. Just relax, Jack, you'll get home…eventually."

"Eventually," he replied. "Great, that's just great, now I gotta wait some 5 years before I can get it on with my honey and you're telling me everything's going to be fine?! What are you on, girl, crack? You been smoking some joints or something?!"

"Jenny!" cried Gwen with a pout. "If you're going to do that, the least you could do is share…"

"Enough!" cried Nicole. "Look, I see coins in Jenny's purse, and a sign right there that says there's a town down the road. Let's go there, talk it over some food, and get a room for the night." She glanced around the darkening sky. "I don't fancy sleeping under the stars much…"

"And I agree with her," said Jenny, helping Gwen to her feet and looking at Nicole for a moment. "Hey, Nicole, why don't you hide in a pocket or something? Even here, people can't normally be six inches tall…"

"Do I have to?" whined Nicole, pouting slightly. 

"Yes, you do," replied Gwen, scooping her up and sticking her in her pouch. "See? Nice and cozy…"

"I'm going to kill you for this later!" yelled Nicole as they flap closed on her. 

Gwen laughed. "I'd like to see you try, sweety, seeing as any implement of destruction that would be worth using is bigger than you…"

"Aw, the mini-short stuff having some trouble being so small?" said Jack sarcastically, swinging his staff over his shoulders and walking off after Jenny. 

"Shove it, Jack!"

He just laughed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. "Not likely, squirt."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Randy stuck his tongue out in concentration as he stared at the rope before him, formulating the picture of fire in his mind. He formed it in his hand, feeling the heat that radiated from it but wouldn't scorch him because it was his creation, then formed it in the air above the rope itself. 

Now came the tricky part.

He slowly called the same light and energy that created the fire in the air to come on the rope, to appear and dance as it should without burning the rope or using it as fuel in any way. Bit by bit it appeared, slowly forming on the area he wanted, keeping its heat and energy within itself and feeding off of that…

Randy let his attention slip as a fly landed on his nose and the rope burst into flame, the tabletop going with it as he screamed in pain from his hands getting scorched. Bryanna came running it, grabbing the pail of sand he had by the door for a later experiment and pouring it over the fire since there was no water available.

"You moron," she growled as she put out the last of the flames, turning his attention to his hands once she was finished. "I swear, one of these days…" She grabbed her healer's kit from the corner, Olivia coming in to see what all the commotion was about. 

"What's going on?" she asked as she stopped at the door, smelling the burn wood and sand and seeing Randy's burnt hands. "Randy! What did you do to yourself this time?!"

"He was an idiot, that's what," replied Bryanna, having him turn his chair away from the table and towards the bed so she could sit there to do her work.

"I was just trying to get the fire illusion to work," he whined, wincing as Bryanna began to smear some cream over his tender skin. "Mmm…it didn't exactly work as planned…"

"No sh-"

"What's going on here?!" cried the Inn keeper, running in with a bucket in either hand. "We smelled smoke down in the common room…"

"It's alright," Olivia quickly assured him. "He just did something he shouldn't have, and we apologize for the damage. Will this cover it?" She pulled out a silver crescent from her pocket, putting it firmly in his hand. 

"Yes," he said quickly, backing out of the room and as far from the mages as he could. "I'll just leave these right here in case you need them…" He set the buckets outside the door and hightailed it back down to the main room, away from all forms of magic that he didn't understand. 

"You moron!" she ranted at Randy the moment he was gone, Bryanna layering bandages over his hands. "You could've taken down the whole building, had that gotten out of control, what were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking I had it right," he snapped back, getting a smack on his sore hands from Bryanna for moving around too much. "Ow!! Sorry…"

"Don't you ever, EVER do that again, you brainless, impotent son of a bastard's apprentice!!"

"You stole that from the cobbler, didn't you?" remarked Bryanna as she finished up Randy's other hand.

"And if I did?" Olivia glared daggers at her as well.

"Just asking…" She secured the last bandage, holding back the urge to smack him a cross the face because she'd have to heal any bruises she gave him before they went back to their new Teacher, and she didn't feel like wasting the energy. "You do that again, I won't heal you, and you'll be on your own for getting yourself patched up." She packed up her things put the kit away and left, leaving behind a packet of tealeaves to help with the pain. 

"And I'll support her entirely," added Olivia, turning to go. "Clean up this mess before we get back, alright? It's your fault it's there, after all…"

"But…I…"

"I SAID CLEAN IT UP!!"

"…yes ma'am…" Randy looked at his bandaged hands with the fingers all put together, then at the mess before him. "Now how am I supposed to do this?"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben were ushered into a dark hall, the entire thing wreathed in shadows except at the head of the grand table where two forms sat with mage lights around them. With a guard on either side and both armed to the teeth, she wasn't entirely sure she liked what she was seeing right about then.

Silven curled at her neck as they went into the light, her animal eyes having a harder time adjusting as they were looked over by the Master of the Holding.

"You are Briteyes, I presume?" asked a cordial voice, Amanda focusing on the fellow it came from. He looked to be in his mid fifties, and extremely obese with folds of fat enclosing his entire being. Mouse brown hair and eyes, he wasn't exactly handsome, but she'd seen far worse before. "With the youngling Scamp and their amazing squirrel Silven. I must say, I've never liked the rodents, but if you have trained her as they say you have perhaps this one isn't so bad…"

Lyssa twitched her ears and bared her fangs angrily. #Rodent?! Did he just call me a RODENT?!#

"I am," replied Amanda, hushing Silven by putting her hand on her head. "And this is Scamp and Silven." Out of the corner of her mouth, she added, "Just let it go, Silven…"

Lyssa sat back down, grumbling to herself. #Call me a rodent…I'll rodent him if he does it again…#

"I am glad you have accepted my invitation to play," he said demurely, a slight smile gracing his face. "This is my son, Artor, and I am Lord Hemson." The pale blonde beside him nodded his head, a thin lad of 15 or so with a serious face but twinkling brown eyes that made Amanda figure he must not be that bad after all. 

"My thanks, Lord Hemson, for the invitation," replied Amanda as protocol demanded; bowing deeply and having Ben do the same. 

"I understand you stuck a deal with my trusty servant," said Lord Hemson, motioning as the bald guy from before came out of the shadows. "What is it that I could do that would make you pleased enough with me that you will stay and play for us?"

"I would think a bit of food and rest, as we've just come off a long journey, before we are required to play," replied Amanda quickly. "A full meal afterwards, a place by your hearth to sleep for the night, and enough supplies or money to get us to the next big town so we can get back home."

"Done," he replied instantly. "A bit more demanding…but I supposed you have a right to be if you are as good as you claim…" He grinned oddly. "You, bring these two some bread, cheese, and water." It was done, and not long after the trio prepared to perform. 

Benjamin did simple flips and juggling tricks, alternating that with playing the tambourine or flute and singing to Amanda's music. Amanda herself let off playing every once in awhile to do a few tricks for the boy, but seeing he found them only amusing and not amazing as her usual younger crowd did, she stuck to the music and the occasion balancing act with Ben on her shoulders. 

Finishing with such an act, Ben jumped into a controlled tumble and rolled a little before coming up on his feet into a bow.

"Bravo! Bravo!!" cried Lord Hemson, his entire being jiggling with laughter as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Goodness, Artor, do you think they've earned their stay for the night?"

"Of course they have, father," he replied, a giant grin coming across his face. "In fact, that is the best birthday performance I have ever had!"

"Thank you," replied Ben, ducking his head in embarrassment. 

"Are we settled on the agreement, then?" asked Amanda, more interested on that then anything else.

"Of course," he replied instantly. "I swear on my life, Briteyes, you and your brother are safe and welcome to stay while you're with my walls."

"We appreciate the offer," she replied, feeling Silven curl up on her shoulder again. "But…we need to head home."

"Family?" asked the Lord, raising his brows slightly. 

"More business," came the terse reply. 

"Of course," he said, dismissing them with a relieved wave of his hand. "My servants will bright you blankets and some more food, and you may sleep by the fire there. Will that do?"

"That will do," replied Ben, grabbing his things and waving once more at the son before going and arranging them the way he liked. "Goodnight, sir, and thanks!

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Jenny glanced around as they walked through the bustling town, blending in with the rest of the people there as well as she had back in Tortal. Gwen and Randy followed close behind, both still unsure about their surroundings, with Nicole hiding on Gwen's shoulder among her hair where she could see without being seen.

"Why are we going this anyways?" asked Jack for the fifth time, picking his breakfast from his teeth with a toothpick while eyeing some pickpockets warily.

"Because I have a feeling this is what we should be doing," sighed Jenny, getting tired of his constant questioning. "It's just a feeling, ok? A pull…like whoever it is who's running this place this time wants us to go this way."

"And what good does that do us if we don't even have enough to get beds and meals tonight?" he retorted.

"Maybe it'll get us that, numbskull," retorted Jenny. She turned and half glared at him, pausing slightly. "Do you know something I don't? A job we might get, or a place we might stay that you have knowledge of that I'm not privy to?" When Jack didn't answer, she turned and started walking again. "Unless you got a better idea, oh wise friend of mine, I'd suggest you pipe down and let me follow this one through."

"Yeah, whatever…"

They came to a large, wooden building with a Trader symbol over the door and a guard on either side. "State your business with the Trader Council," said the one on the right in Trader talk, stepping in their path so Jenny could not enter the building without going by him first.

"We're the remainder of the crew of First Ship Windsor," stated Jenny firmly, not even realizing she'd switched to another language or she'd understood him perfectly without the use of a translator. Jack realized it, and wondered where the name had come from as well, but kept his mouth shut, as he had no idea what was going on at the moment. "My name is Jenny, and I wish to speak with the Judges of the Council on the fate of the other Windsor Ships."

"Enter then, Trader Jenny," said the guard, stepping back briskly. "And wait for your turn to speak with the Council Judges."

"Of course." They filed in, and took a seat among the others, talking among themselves as they waited for their turn. 

"You were talking in another language back there," said Jack nervously, running his hands along his chain as he balanced his staff on the wall. "And I understood it, too. What the hell is going on here?"

"It's part of the process," said Jenny carefully. "Though I didn't notice it…was I really?"

"Yep, sounded like a bunch of gabble at first, but my brain just kinda reverted it as I listened," stuck in Gwen with a grin. "It was pretty cool."

"Then the changes aren't in just appearance…"

"And what was with the 'First Ship Windsor' deal?" went on Jack. "What is that, too? Some code name or something?"

"Let me explain," said Nicole, coming out of Gwen's hair and sitting out in the open since they were in a secluded corner for the moment. "Trader's do talk a different language than the rest of the normal people. They speak Imperial, we speak Trader, but since we all can hear and speak both I think that'll work to our advantage. As for the First Ship Windsor thing, I think that's our family name. First Ship means we had the highest ship, the original one of the family, and were probably the head family in the Matriarchal Line. Windsor was probably the Clan name. So, if there were, say, 5 daughters in the original family, then there are five ship Windsors and it would grow with time."

"What's 'Matriarchal' mean?" asked Jack, looking a little suspicious. "Shouldn't that be Patriarchal or something?"

"Nope, most family ties in the Trader world go down the Mother's side," replied Nicole with a saucy smile. "Welcome to a world ruled mainly by women, Jack. Enjoy your stay."

"Are you the crew of the First Ship Windsor?" asked a Trader in robes, Nicole diving back into her hiding spot at his entrance.

"We are," replied Jenny, rising quickly to her feet. 

"The Judges will receive you now," he said carefully, walking into the room beyond without waiting for them to follow. Going after him, they found themselves in a large room with Traders sitting in rows of benches all the way up to the front where the judges sat. Five regular Traders and one _mirmander_, or Trader mage, sat at the front of the room, waiting patiently for them to take their seats at the front and bring before them their complaint, request, or plea.

"State your business with the Council," said the first Trader judge, the chief judge as well as a man, motioning for the scribe to begin his writing. "As well as what Caravan or Ship you are of." Everything was done in Trader talk, and all four were still fairly amazed that they could not only understand but also speak the language as easily as their own. 

"We are the First Ship Windsor," replied Jenny firmly, holding out her staff as evidence. The two birds with their bits of wind and the wire edge on hers showed easily in the lamplight. "That should state enough of our business with the Council."

"Jen, what are you doing?!" demanded Jack as a murmur rose from the crowd. "I swear, this is the most messed up thing I've ever done before in my life, including getting high on the school roof last week!"

"The Windsor clan was wiped out three generations ago," said one of the Judges in surprise. "All four ships and their crews gone, yet here you claim to be one of them…how can we be sure you are them and not some imposter of sorts? Explain to me how this can be."

"The four Ships of Windsor were last reported to be in the Pebbled Sea, where they not?" asked Jenny, letting the words flow from her mouth though she had no idea what is was that she said. "We were separated in a storm just sound of Hatar Island, the First and Fourth ship continuing South after the devastating wreckage done to our vessel. The Second and Third, we found later, had been attacked right after the storm by a Pirate ship, and both were sunk after being looted for they were about ready to fall apart themselves. 

"This we know because the Fourth Ship was forced to stay in port at the first stop we could find, crippled almost beyond repair and while there they found two surviving members of the family who had been sold into slavery there. By then we were even beyond Janaal, which reaches around Sotat and then goes for several leagues along the coast. The First Ship and Fourth Ship we sold, taking was profits from it we could and making our way North. The Trader Council there recorded our passing, and gave us shelter while we stayed there, but they could help us no more than that for our home Council was here, Nambar Island. A contact was sent this way, but apparently it never reached here. 

"From there, Captain Myran, my Grandmother, persuaded the Council to allow them to live in one of the secluded Trader Villages, those who were left from the storms either too injured or old for work and needing time to get themselves put back together before anything could be done. Years passed, things changed, and due to some of our crew finding mates among those in the village two new generations were born. Before my Grandmother Myran died, she made me promise to come here and collect that which she left behind, for it was the only thing she could give me as the first born of her first born. Mother had died years before that, thus making me the sole inheritor of the entire Windsor Clan accounts. Contact those below Janaal if you wish, the Sibnav Trader Council. With me are my cousins Gwen and Jack, the only offspring of Myran's second born. With them, I will share what I gain."

"That wasn't you talking, was it?" asked Jack as the Council began to talk among themselves. Jenny turned to look at him slightly. 

"I don't think so…" she admitted, going slightly pale. 

"There is another with you whom you have not mentioned," said the _mirmander_ suddenly, rising to his or her feet. It was hard to tell with the layers of yellow robes, veils, and makeup he/she wore. "Is there not?"

Gwen felt Nicole freeze on her shoulder, feeling her own heart stop as well. "Oh crap…"

"What do you mean by another?" asked Jenny, simply turning to face the _mirmander_ while leaning on her staff. 

"This is what I mean." A burst of wind shot towards Gwen, enough that it would've pummeled them over if Nicole had not suddenly made a sign with her hands and pushed with all her might, creating a shield that the wind harmlessly rebounded off. Somehow, though she wasn't sure of the particulars at the moment, she sat Indian style and floated out on a puff of wind, coming to stop before the _mirmander_ with a grin.

"Eh…hello."

"A nymph," commented the _mirmander_, trying to keep herself calm though her hand shook as she held it out for the miniature person to land on. 

"Yes," agreed Nicole with a nod, instantly liking the sound of the word. "A nymph."

"It is the Windsor Clan," proclaimed the _mirmander_ faintly, "For in the history of all _mirmanders_ has their Clan been able to persuade one of these creatures to bind itself to their family forever…"

"Then it is so," said the Chief Judge, rising to his feet as the rest of the Council did as well. "As in the first days when our people carried fire, weaving, and metal-work to non-traders, the _kaqs_, so it is now. Jenny Windsor and cousins, sole survivors of the Windsor Clan, we declare all accounts left by your family will be rectified and brought back with the backing of the Council until every last debt and gain has been restored. As it was then, let it be so now."

"As it was then, let it be so now," repeated Jenny, nodding in thanks as she and her new 'cousins' were led out the side door to the place where they'd be told everything they would gain from this. 

"So the little mini brat does have a use," commented Jack, still weirded out by the whole thing. 

Nicole floated by, bopping him on the head with her mini staff. "Ah, shaddup."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Cheeks!!" called Libby, not feeling up to hauling the horse crap to the compost pile and wondering if she could force Cheeks to do it instead. "Cheeks, where are you?"

"He's not out here!" called Brenna, looking up from the cabbage patch she was weeding. "I gave him the afternoon off since he did all the plowing this morning while I slept in."

"Have any idea where he might be?" asked Libby hopefully.

"Not a clue," replied Brenna honestly. "He won't be in the fields, though, I know that much…"

"Alright." Libby went for the house, opening the back door and yelling as loud as she could. "Cheeks!!!"

"He's not here!" called Kaitlin from the kitchen. "He ran out an hour or so ago, refusing to eat anymore of my cookies!"

"Small wonder, considering he spent half a night over in the outhouse last time he took some," Libby called back with an amused grin. 

Kaitlin pouted from her spot at the counter, beating some eggs into flour and yeast. "Aww…it wasn't so bad, at least I made sure it wouldn't last the WHOLE night, you know…"

"Right…" Libby rolled her eyes, then wandered back outside, walking in circles as she tried to figure out where he might be. Going by the sheep and goat field, she was about to turn back and go do it herself when she noticed a random hand sticking out from among all the sheep asleep in the center of the field. "Hm??"

Walking over and nudging a few wooly bodies aside, she found him dozing under the mound with a sheep in either arm and a goat snuggled up on top of his belly. 

"Oh my gosh…" Libby almost fell over laughing he was so funny looking and cute at the same time. At the same time, she felt kinda sad. That was how she and her bunnies used to sleep, and Pinky had been left behind in the real world…

Nudging him with her toe, she said, "Cheekums, Kaitlin and the twins are coming at the only way to escape their wrath is to go haul the horse poop for me…"

"Say what?!" Cheeks was awake in a heartbeat, scrambling through the sheep and goats and running for the barn as fast as he could. Not that Libby knew if he'd done anything to them recently, but the odds were fairly good since just last week they'd snuck into his room and hung his underwear from the top of the barn and nothing had come out yet as far as revenge…

^_^ "Teehee!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Randy sat reading the book that was weighed down at the corners, absently picking at the edges of the scabs that covered the backs of his hands when he got them both caught on the front of his shirt and ripped them away quickly without thinking about it.

"YEEOUCH!!!" 

Bryanna and Olivia jumped at the sound, Bryanna grabbing her healer's kit with a sigh as she saw the raw skin of the burns revealed again. "Randy…!"

"I know, I know," he said quickly, wincing as she held his hand down by the wrist so she could clean out the burns since he'd so kindly ripped them open for her. "I shouldn't pick at it…but I can't help it sometimes, you know! It itches like a mother most of the time…"

"Pull of the scabs again, and I won't give you the painkillers that only make it itch," threatened Bryanna, rubbing more salve over it and bandaging it up as quickly as she could. She could've just healed it, bringing the wounds to close without leaving the least bit of a scar. But she felt he needed to learn a lesson, and besides, there was no use wasting her gift when the salve would do the same work with just a little bit more time. The only reason it would scar would be if he kept ripping it off like that… "I'll let it heal naturally, and trust me you'll be without the full use of your hands for far longer than you'd like."

"Ok, ok! I understand…" Randy laid his head on the book, resting it there while she wrapped them in bandages again. He'd just gotten the last set off the night before, from the first time he'd taken the scabs off. That had been by accident, though, not because they'd itched but because he'd been restless and cracked them wide open in his sleep. "Really, I am sorry…"

Olivia watched from the corner of her eye, only half her attention directed to the notes in front of her. She tried to concentrate better on them, to figure out her problem with replication, but couldn't concentrate on anything but his hands. They were unusually big hands, but also very gentle when it came down it to…

"Olivia," said Bryanna, breaking into her train of thought. "Can you hand me that bottle right there?"

"Hm?" asked Olivia, still in a bit of a daze from having been caught off guard. "Say what?"

"The bottle, by your hand."

"Oh…here." She handed it over with a nod. Bryanna let Randy take a sip, then put it back in her bag. 

"Remember what I said, Randy…"

"I know, I know…" he sighed, looking at his fingerless paws again. Oh how he wished it were healed and done with. "Well, time for my lesson. Goodbye, my fair beauties until then!"

"And to hell with you!" called Olivia from her corner, annoyed with him for ruining her concentration.

Bryanna nodded with a growl. "Same here!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Psst!!"

Amanda dove deeper into her blankets, holding Ben in her arms for warmth and Silven snuggled at her neck. Whoever it was could wake, she KNEW it wasn't dawn yet and there was no way anyone was going to make her move with something less than an emergency move from that spot.

"Pssst!! Milady!! Please, wakeup!!"

"What?" she growled, barely opening one eye and staring up at the servant who was incessantly shaking her arm urgently. "This had better be good…"

"Please, keep your voice down," he begged. "This is a matter of your freedom, if you count that as an emergency…"

"Explain," she demanded, fully awake and sitting up suddenly. "Now."

"The Master has promised you sanctuary while you're here, yes?" asked the servant quickly."

"Yes."

"When does it end?"

"When I leave these walls."

"Exactly. The Master has a company of Mercs who work for him," explained the servant quickly. "Once you are back in the swamp, they will ambush you dressed as beggars and drag you back to the town and sell you as slaves. There, the bald fellow will buy you and bring you back here, putting you forever in his debt and sealing you to forever be his slave!"

"Please, for the love of God, tell me you aren't serious," hissed Amanda, grabbing his shirt. 

"I wish I could," he replied sadly. "But I fell for it myself, as a juggler who caught his eye, and will be here for the rest of my life. If you follow me now, I can perhaps give you a chance of escape, though…"

"How do I know I can trust you?" asked Amanda, feeling very alone as well as wary all of a sudden. "Why are you going to help me and my brother when you yourself won't escape?"

"As one performer to another," he said solemnly, showing her the tattoo of his old troupe. "It is my duty to help those who would serve the same fate as I. Will you trust me now?"

Amanda looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "I will." She roused Ben and Silven as quickly and quietly as possible, packing their things while the manservant kept watch at the door. Throwing on the cloaks he'd brought them, he led them down to the servants' hallway, where they slipped out of a side gate that was reserved for the hired helps use only. 

The fellow paid off the guard there, knowing he would tell later on but it would buy the pair a few hours time for the moment. Slipping in and out of the shadows as fast as they could, they made it to an Inn in the poorer edge of the district. 

"Another set?" asked the man in the stable, bringing out a sack with old raggedly clothes in it.

"Yep," replied the manservant. "This is a friend, he'll give you what you need in exchange for what you can leave behind to get you far enough away to escape." Amanda and Ben traded off their regular clothes and all the extra sets; their nicer cloaks and pins; all of Amanda's earrings except for the cuff, chain, and stud; their boots and sandals; all their extra coins; and a few bits and baubles they'd collected over time.

"Keeping the instruments could be dangerous, miss," advised the Innkeeper friend.

"I know," replied Amanda. "But they're what we have to keep us alive."

"Suit yourself…" They were given old shirts, pants, and sashes with worn out sandals to cover their feet and shabby wraps that pulled over their heads with hoods to wear, all common cuts to what people there wore. Their bags were exchanged for others, older ones, filled with those things they'd kept and enough food to keep them going for awhile so they wouldn't have to stop and earn more. 

"Head south, to Sotat, for he'll expect you to flee north out of the country into Zalai," he advised them as he mounted them on the friend's horse just inside the edge of the town. The mount was as shabby as they, though he was fast and strong under his mottled coat. "Leave the mount at the Yellow Bird in Hajra, then, and it will be brought back up to us when the next train comes through. We have done this before, if you can tell."

"I can," replied Amanda with a slight grin. She rubbed the gentle, but still strong gelding they'd been given between the ears as Ben clung to her back tightly and Silven sat in her front pocket. He'd never been on an untethered horse before. "Thank you, whoever you are."

"I would tell you, but if you're caught it would be my head," he replied with a salute. "Goddess speed!"

"And Goddess safety, to you!" Amanda spurned the beast out of the stable yard and down the road, a steady canter that she wouldn't stop until dawn. Ben had fallen asleep long before that, trusting the rope she had that tied him to her to keep him on while she led the horse through the swamp and onwards south. They were fugitives now, due to her own blind trust in others, and since she'd gotten them it in she swore she'd get them back out. She had to.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Nicole giggled to herself on the deck of the ship they'd inherited, playing with her winds as Jack and Jenny went over every inch of it together in some sort of 'inspection' or other. Not that she cared much; she was having too much fun getting to know her new friends, the winds!

Letting them frisk about like playful pups, she began to feel the differences in each individual one. This one a bit more powerful, this one less, this one had a hint of the south of it, and this one the north. This one brought with it feelings of a wet rainforest, this one a dry desert. They played with her, told her stories, made her laugh, to her were the same as people. 

"What are you doing?" asked Gwen, walking by and hearing her talking out loud for some reason. 

"Talking to the wind!" replied Nicole with a blonde grin, though her hair was as dark as ever.

"Right…" Gwen whistled to herself as she walked away. Wow, that girl had lost it somewhere along the line.

"Careful now!" she said in surprise as one nearly knocked her from her perch. "Oh, alright…here we go!!" 

Standing suddenly, she dove off the top of the cabin she was on and was caught by them, spinning and twisting in their movements as they frisked about her. If she wished, they'd take her anywhere she wanted, all she had to do was ask. For now, though, she was content to let them go where they would within the confines of the ship itself. 

Being whisked through a door, she found herself flung in the air and landing on Jenny's shoulder, so unprepared for the jump that she landed in a sprawled fashion and almost fell off.

"Smooth," commented Jack sarcastically. "You think that landing up on your own or did you have some help?"

"Can it, bean brain-"

"Enough," said Jenny before it could escalate any further. As funny as it had been when Nicole had touched Jack off and she'd run around the deck for hours avoiding being stomped on (missing her time after time had only made him madder and it hadn't stopped until it had been time to eat) by his rather large boots, she'd rather not have it happen again.

All in all, their outlook was very good. The ship they'd been sold to replace their 'old one' was in good condition, the sides and bottom waterproof and with enough space to fit all of them plus a good sized crew that they'd start to put together soon. Jenny had been made Captain, being the direct inheritor, and Jack her First mate since he was older than Gwen. All that, plus the nice nest egg they still had in some investment or another going for them, even if they did lose the ship they'd still have enough to live off of for quite a long time. 

Now all they had to do was figure out what they were going to do with all of it. 

"Anyone hungry?" asked Jenny, seeing the sun had reached it's zenith in the sky and feeling her stomach begin to complain a little. She'd taken over at the ship's cook as well, for the moment, until they hired another one in her place.

"I always am," replied Jack immediately. "Come on, woman, get me my meal going already!"

"Say that again and I'll make sure the only one who eats is the sharks that feast on your body!" called Gwen from the doorway where she stood.

"And if you die I'm fairly sure you don't come back," added Jennifer with a grin. "Better be careful, Jack. Remember, you're the only guy here and this is still a culture ruled by women that we're a part of…"

"You're only saying that cuz you don't have any proof otherwise!" he countered angrily. "Come on, now, give a brother a break, I was just playing…"

"How about I give you a break and you go make lunch?" offered Jenny, shrugging her shoulders lightly.

"What?!" cried Jack in outrage. "What you be talking about, me making you food, that's women's-" Seeing the looking Gwen's eye, he stopped and sighed. "Fine, alright, I'll make lunch. Man, my dad would kill me if he knew I stooped to this…"

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him!" called Nicole, darted off into the air as Jack tried to make a lunge at her. "Hehe!!"

"Oh man…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"What is it, Dev?" asked Trystan without looking up from her work, sending off a spell in the space of a breath as she waited for her answer. "Well?"

"Just looking for something," he mumbled as he flipped through her files, his nose already immersed in one even though she hadn't given him permission yet. She snapped it from his hands, giving him one of her glares. 

"If you tell me, I can help you find it faster and get you out of my hair quicker too," she said in a soft, dangerous voice, making him think that might be the wisest course of action.

"I want the spell to get these back," he said, handing her a list of three names.

"Where did you get these?" asked Trystan in surprise.

Devan grimaced. "A dream."

"Ah…" Trystan scribbled down some stuff and gave it to him before giving him a magic push back to his own workshop. "And don't come back!"

"Get what you were looking for?" asked Grendal, looking at Devan on the floor as he came to from Trystan's forced exit back home.

"Of course," he replied confidently. "Hehe…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Libby yawned as she woke from her dream, and what a beautiful dream it had been! All her bunnies, surrounding her and loving her…

*thump*

Libby froze, glancing around and seeing nothing that would make such a sound in her room. 

*thump* *thump*

Putting her feet on the floor, she almost screamed as three small and furry objects that exploded from under her bed suddenly assaulted them. "OH MY GOSH!! HE-….Pinky?! Rose?! IFORGET?!!" 

Scooping them up in her arms, she pranced about the room singing bunny-type songs at the top of her lungs. 

"Libby, are you ok?" asked Brenna, sticking her head in the door as it was time for breakfast and Libby should've already been out milking the cows. 

"Guess what?" asked Libby, bringing the trio up in front of her face (all of which looked at Brenna with an air of 'it'll all be over soon…') with a flourish. "BUNNIES!!"

"Oh my gosh…" said Brenna, stumbling back a few feet. "I just can't believe it…"

"What?" asked Libby, getting a little worried, what's wrong?"

"You…" Brenna blinked, a grin spreading over her face. "You're so cute…you about killed me with your cuteness…"

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Says who?!"

"Me."

"Bah!" Libby hugged her bunnies and scooted past Brenna out the door. "Come, my dears, time to eat!"

"You are so adorable sometimes, Lib…"

"Never as adorable as you, Vixie."

"Ah," Brenna smiled wickedly, "But nothing can beat the perfect pink anime girl!"

"…schmoo."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna, Olivia, and Randy rode into Winding Circle, each with a paper they had to write and send to Lightbridge before the end of the moon and figuring they might as well use what resources were at hand for it.

Bryanna split off from the other two, heading for the Water temple, which was also the head of the Healers. "Excuse me," she said to one of the novices who were tending the fountain at the front. "Could you direct me to one of the Master Mage Healers, by any chance?"

"Healer Henna be the one you want, then," said the lad through his thick accent. "You can find her 'round the side, pro'ly eatin' under the trees."

"Thank you." Bryanna left at a trot, finding a plump, wide-hipped woman in a blue Water Temple habit sitting on the ground under a tree. 

"Hello, child," she said, her dark brown eyes looking up at her kindly. With hair the same color and skin like newly minted copper, Bryanna took a moment to study her with a nod. "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm Bryanna," she said lightly, sitting across from her. "A journeyman from Lightbridge, and I need someone to help explain this healing concept to me." She gladly handed over the stack of loose papers, hugging her knees to her chest once her hands were free.

"Oh, this is simple enough, dear," replied the dedicate. "By the way, I'm Dedicate Henna. Now, back to your problem, this concept is based on the idea that we never stop growing…"

Olivia had split off from Randy the moment she could slip away without him noticing, in no particular hurry to get her paper done and just wanting to spend some time alone for once. After all, the last teacher they'd had had given her most of her information and all she had to do now was put the paper in order and write it al out. 

Wandering along the winding paths, she didn't even notice the little cottage off to the side until she was even with its gate and she almost ran into one of the occupants coming out. 

"Oh! Excuse me," said the Dedicate, giving her a bright smile as she scooted by with a basket of mended clothes in either hand. "By Mila, I didn't see you there. Are you looking for someone?"

"Not really," replied Olivia, grinning ever so slightly at the woman. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, that's alright," replied the Dedicate as she headed down the path. "The fault is more mine than yours. May you weave a path to that which you seek!"

"Ah, yeah, you too," called back Olivia, unsure of what to say. These nun and monk looking people were strange sometimes.

Glancing around, she noticed another figure over the fence, one that looked familiar but she couldn't place her until she stood up and went to retrieve water from the well. "Dedicate Rosethorn."

"Hm?" The Earth temple Dedicate looked up, her habit kilted up to her knees and her feet covered in dirt. "Oh, it's you. The student from Urda's House, right?"

"Yeah," replied Olivia, walking through the gate and walking towards here. "Just waiting for my friends…"

"Stop!" called Rosethorn as she was about to step through part of the flowers. "Step on it and I'll cover you in vines…"

Olivia pulled back her foot, seeing a tiny plant there. "Over something that small??"

"It's a growing tomato plant, one of the first to come up as a seedling instead of a bit off the original plant," explained Rosethorn as she wiped off her hands. "Mila, I can't tell you how much I love tomatoes, too. It's an important plant to me, as some of your creations are to you."

"Like my sculptures and such?" asked Olivia, creating a similar replica of it in her hand. Just a rough copy, nothing as refined as she usually sold in mage's ice, but it seemed to please the dedicate none the less.

"Somewhat, I suppose."

Randy had somehow wandered his way into the libraries, slowly running one still bandaged hand along the spines off the books as he looked for something along the lines of illusions or light magics. Finding one that he'd been looking for removed from the bookcase by another just as he was reaching for it, he asked, "Excuse me, could I see that for moment? I'll give it back in just a second, I promise."

"This one?" asked the mage, holding up the book he'd just taken from the shelf.

"Yes, that one," said Randy, trying to hide his hands in his sleeves. The mage seemed to notice them, though, and frowned. 

"What did you do to yourself, youngling? Light a fire while trying to hold onto it?" he asked, catching Randy's sleeve in his hand and noticing the burn marks on the fingertips as he brought it up to his face.

"Sort of…" admitted Randy with a shrug. "An illusion got away from me, is all really."

"Hm…" The mage let go and seemed to focus inwards for a moment before shaking his head and focusing on Randy once more. He had long, black hair with silver streaks tied back in a horsetail and wore fine clothes that, while they were a few years behind in fashion, were still well cut and spoke of money, power, or both. "I am Nikolaren Goldeneye, the illusion and scrying mage. Who are you?"

"Randy, a journey man from Lightbridge," he replied quickly as he paled at the same time. "Are you really THE Nikolaren Goldeneye? The most powerful scrying mage in the WORLD?!"

"Well," replied the mage. "I wouldn't put it that way, but…yes."

"Could you help me with this?" asked Randy, taking the book and flipping through the pages quickly. "This spell here, its logic is alright and I can complete the first part but then something happens and it literally blows up in my face…"

"Certainly," replied Niko, taking the book back and flipping through to the pages Randy was looking for. "Alright, you start with your basic image…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben road into Hajra  after almost two weeks of hard travel, their enemies either a few days behind them at worst or had hopefully turned and gone back home at best. It was just dawn, and only a few farmers and an occasional street rat running across the path to see them pass through as they headed for the lower end of town at a swift trot. 

Coming to a line of Inns, it was easy to pick out theirs by the lack of drunks lying outside the front and the bright yellow painted bird that served as its sign. Slowing to a walk and entering the stable yard at a lazy pace, the stable boy only glanced at them before starting in surprise and running in the Inn for someone else

Dismounting stiffly as they hadn't been out of the saddle much for the past several days, Amanda was just helping Ben from his seat when an older fellow bustled out, a worried look on his face.

"You be from up north, milady?" he asked, noting their lack of reaction to his appearance and the condition of their mount. She handed the token she'd been given before leaving to him and went on taking their things off the horse before turning it entirely over to the stable boy.

"He catch you too?" asked the man, recognizing it and relaxing visibly.

"Yes," replied Amanda, the circles under her eyes belying the amount of stress they'd been under. 

"Come, I'll get you a small pack of vittles, then set you off to one of the better parts of town where you can ply your trade for a week. If they trace the horse to here, I say a fellow a fortnight ago who was heading East and didn't want his extra mount no more sold it to me. If you don't hear from me in a week, head any direction but east, ok? That's the way I'll throw 'em if they do show after that."

He noticed their instruments and added, "And don't go making a spectacle of yourself, now, become famous again real fast and get your name all over the place. That's what attracted him in the first place, no sense in getting his attention again."

"We won't," replied Amanda, slinging everything over her shoulder and putting an arm around Ben's shoulders. Silven climbed out of her pocket and perched on her shoulder. "Where to, now?"

The man gave her the pack of food and sent her off a few streets down and to the right, more or less in the low-end market where any quality performer worth his salt wouldn't be. Amanda took the hint and played simple, but well known tunes and left the lute out of more than slightly tune even though it nearly killed her musical ear to listen to it.

The day came and went, a few of the upper class folks passing through every now and then and the occasional well-meaning fellow throwing a dirty copper or two into their bowl which Silven still guarded like the best watchdog around. For dinner they bought some gravy and rolls from a vendor, licking up every bite hungrily from not eating hot food for weeks. Their food pack was still unopened, but they figured they'd save that incase there came a day they didn't make anything and had nothing to eat.

"Where are we going to sleep?" asked Ben, curling up against her side from the cold as he wrapped his rags about him a little tighter. 

"Right here," replied Amanda gently. "I know, we're in the street, but we have an overhang above us and we're just high enough to keep us out of the sewer…probably the best deal we're going to get." 

#We're still alive, right?# added Silven as he began to object. #We're still alive and we're still together, living like this for a week won't hurt us that much…#

"I promise you," said Amanda, bringing him in her arms and warming him as best she could. "As soon as we're far enough away, and get a real job, we'll stop, get baths, get new clothes, and go home to Emelan."

"Alright." He snuggled farther into her rags and fell asleep, leaving her leaning against the wall, awake, and with Silven curled on top of his head. Amanda was just about to drift off to sleep herself when she noticed a shadow slipping towards from around the corner, snippets of muffled voices drifting on the wind. 

"Roach…are you…food…?"

"Shaddup…sure…"

"…be right…"

"…keep watch…get it…"

"Why? …get good…all time…"

"…do it Slug!"

Amanda relaxed and waited. Of all the places to meet the boy who would become the famous Briar Moss someday…he wasn't a murderer, and at best he might try to flinch her bread or coins left over. Keeping her eyes closed as one of them crept up to her, the other keeping an eye on the street for any guards as the first began to slip his hand behind Amanda's back for the pack that was there.

Grabbing his hand, she silenced him with a look as she opened her eyes, feeling him freeze in her grip. "Take this," she hissed, pitying him as he was hardly more than a skeleton at that point and giving him the rest of her rolls from dinner. "Come again tomorrow, I might give you more, try and steal from me again and I'll give you to the guards." He nodded and fled, his buddy surprised by his action but still pleased that he'd apparently gotten some food. 

The week passed, everyday they acted out their part as beggar musicians, and every night she came and fed the boy and whoever came with him with what was left of her dinner. It was never much, but probably better than they'd see for a while, and that was what mattered to her. Leaving a dawn on the 8th day, they breathed a sigh of relief that no sign of their pursuers had come and they were safe at last. It was finally time to head home.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

The entire farm woke at dawn as Brenna cast them all from their beds, put reapers or machetes in their hands and made them help with the harvest. Even the twins came over to lend a hand (though they were given the job of tying up the sheaves of grain, and forbidden to touch anything with a blade on it) and with everyone helping the process went much faster than it would have if it had just been Brenna and Cheeks with occasional help from Libby or Kaitlin.

Rupal, who'd never harvested anything before in her life, was finding mowing down stroke after stroke of wheat rather satisfying once Cheeks had showed her how to do it and Libby filled bag after bag of with ears of corn that Cheeks took back to the barn and stored in the empty stalls for later. The stalks they'd been on were cut down and hauled back to the compost pile, turning into the fertilizer that would be used next year on the farm.

Brenna herself mowed down the hay, pitching it into a separate wagon made just for it while Kaitlin stood inside and packed it all down, jumping up and down the whole time until she thought her legs would fall off.

Needless to say, they were half dead that night and dreaded the day to come, with their muscles made of mush and bones of rubber, and not even the thick stew Kaitlin managed to put together helped them feel any more human. Even with all the pain and suffering, they managed to put all the greater part of their harvest away in three days of hard work and suffering.

Now all they had to do was figure out what to do with it.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia idly wandered through the library alone, having left Bryanna somewhere out in the gardens studying some plant or another for her healing thing and Randy doing happy dances on the wall because he'd finally figured out how to make things 'appear' to burn without really burning them or himself in the process.

She came across a section of Ice mages and stopped, picking out the first one that really caught her eye and thumbing through it for any tips or concepts she might take from it. 

"Excuse me," said a quiet voice, getting her attention just as she was about to sit down and read a section about freezing living beings without killing them. She looked up, seeing a dedicate in a blue habit with some sort of a stripe around her sleeve; and while that stripe seemed to have some sort of importance to it she couldn't place it at the moment and figured it must not be that important after all. "Do you require some help looking for something?"

"No, thanks," replied Olivia, about to return to her book when the dedicate sat across from her.

"I am Head Dedicate Moonstream," the woman explained, her indifferent eyes capturing most of Olivia's attention. Not in rapture or anything, mostly in curiosity and a touch of annoyance.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Olivia, ducking her head as she paid proper the proper respects to the Dedicate. "I did not mean to be rude…"

"No, it's alright, I was not calling you out on protocol," replied Moonstream steadily. "I have a question, though, when did you become a journeyman, and begin your schooling wandering from teacher to teacher?"

"Hm, just over a year ago," replied Olivia in surprise. "In fact, it was a year just a week or so ago, I think."

Moonstream nodded to herself, almost as if she was confirming something she already knew. "Hm, well, thank you. Just so you know, I've met another like you, you are not alone." She got up and left the table, leaving a very confused Olivia behind with far more questions than answers, none of which she asked to be presented to her.

"Well, that was strange…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Hm, chappies over, new characters are in, there's more chaos then ever, and the first of the plots is taking over. Well, hope you enjoyed it. Please review, 'cuz I wrote this for you on my birthday when I could've been, um, doing something other than that. Yeah. ^_~

~Crosseyebutterfly~


	7. 

And…we're back!! This time with multiple chapters, so those of you out there who've been complaining about not updates SHMOO ON YOU!! : P Anyway, thanks for those of you who reviewed, and while more of you need to do it I'll take what I can get, I guess. Remember, those of you who are characters, I control your fates within the book, and if I don't see some reviews things could suddenly get very, very bad… ^_~ 

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Almost two months had passed since Randy, Olivia, and Bryanna had left Winding Circle, traveling due east into Anderran, which was on relatively good terms with Emelan at the moment. 

"Say," said Randy as he pulled his cloak about himself tighter, the wind having a bite it didn't before as the seasons passed on. He had the map in front of him and was studying it carefully. "There's a small desert south of here, and with two of the teachers we can visit in it too. How about we head there?"

"With winter coming on, I like that idea," agreed Bryanna. "Though being surrounded by tons of sand may not be fun, at least it will be warm, right?"

"It should be," snorted Olivia. "At least by day. It's a desert." She rode up beside the only male in the group and slipped the map from his hands, studying it herself. "Wait, what does this symbol mean?" She pointed to the one next to the first teacher they'd come to.

"Um…animal mage," replied Bryanna carefully. "A specified one, too."

"Animals, as in desert animals?" Olivia raised her brows questioningly. "I'm not sleeping in the same place as scorpions as spiders. I don't mind if they're underfoot or what have you, just I will not sleep in the same building with them if that is what this guy specializes in."

"I'm not to crazy about it either," added Bryanna as she turned that thought over and over in her mind. "We have the small tent, so if we have to two of us can sleep outside." Both girls turned and looked at Randy, who had gone pale and was shaking slightly. 

"D-did you say…spiders?!" he whispered, shivering violently for a moment. "I HATE spiders…I get the tent!!"

"Yeah right, I was the one who said something first!"

"You wouldn't have remembered if I hadn't said something. I get one of the places in the tent!"

"What?! No!! I'll die if I have to sleep in the same place as a s-sp…eight-legged thingy!!"

"You big baby. Then die, one less mouth to feed…"

"No!! Please, I beg you, let me have the tent…" Randy was almost crying by now, ready to throw himself from the horse and grovel at their feet.

The two females answered as one. "No."

"…I'm going to die." Randy's eyes rolled upwards as he fainted dead away in the saddle.

"Oh, shoot. Catch him!!" Between the two of them they hauled him back up right, holding him there for a few moments.

"What do we do with him now?" asked Bryanna, reaching for his horse's reins. 

"Tie him down," replied Olivia, throwing her a coil of rope. "Then lead his horse. I'll stay back and make sure he doesn't fall…"

"To bad he won't stay like this all the way to the desert," muttered Bryanna under her breath. She secured the rope around his waist and two the saddle, leaving him to flop around while riding under Olivia's watch as she gathered up both sets of reins and began to move again. "I could use the quiet."

"Yeah me too."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben walked along the road, rather dusty and tired but in better spirits than they had been a month ago. They didn't dare move fast, and often stayed at one Inn or another for a week or more just playing for the folks and earning just slightly more than they would need the next day. 

Silven didn't perform anymore, her actions drawing too much attention that they couldn't afford and merely acted as a guard over their earnings in the presence of others. Ben and Amanda stuck entirely to music and riddles, entertaining their guests but never amazing them as they had done before. Not that it mattered. The money was good, the food was good, and as long as they lay low for awhile, their lives were good.

One nice lady at a tavern had even let them use her baths and scissors, both of them getting a haircut and feeling clean for the first time in weeks. The first of their earnings had gone for new clothes as well, the same deep blue as before but in just simple tunics and pants with new sandals to go with it. Amanda had sewn silver trim on them both, but did nothing to replace her lost silver earrings or jewelry for the time being. Both still had their armbands, but wore them under the tunics and tried to draw as little attention to themselves as they could. The last thing they wanted to be was traceable. 

"Where are we getting to next?" asked Ben as his stomach growled. "I'm hungry, and I could use a rest too."

#Wherever it is, it won't be long# replied Lyssa, patting his cheek from where she sat on his shoulder. #Its…where are we headed to, Amanda?#

"Summersea," came the light reply. Amanda had done her braids again, and was feeling more like her old self than ever. "And, as soon as we get there we're heading to the Citadel to talk with the Duke. He'll give us the supplies we need, and probably let us play for our supper too."

"Hey, do you think that nice little girl will be there too?" asked Ben, perking up some. "Maybe she'd play with me awhile…"

Lyssa and Amanda exchanged knowing glances. #Think he'll ever admit or even realize he had a crush on her for awhile?# asked Lyssa for Amanda's ears only. 

"Probably not," replied Amanda under her breath, holding out her hand so Lyssa could scamper up her arm and ride on her shoulder for awhile. They reached Summersea a few hours after midday, and were able to reach the Citadel and get an audience with the Duke an hour before dinner.

"Why did you lie and say it was important?" asked Ben as they sat side by side waiting to be seen by the Duke.

"I didn't lie," came the prompt reply. "It is important, someone needs to warn the other performers about that guy."

"Oh, I see…"

#Straighten up# said Lyssa, flicking an ear slightly. #Here he comes#

Both performers stood as the Duke of Emelan walked in and bowed to them both, the pair bowing as one in return. Lyssa scampered from Amanda's shoulder and bowed as well, cutting such a figure that the Duke couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, I remember you. Or at least your little friend here," said Duke Verdis, smiling as he motioned for them all to sit down. "You were at the fair I held awhile ago, among all the other performers."

"Yes, we were," replied Amanda in surprise. "I didn't expect you to remember us, sir…"

"My niece, Sandry, spoke of nothing else but the remarkable squirrel she'd met and the little boy who tended her. I asked about a bit, and found he had a big sister, and assumed it was you since you look so much alike," explained the Duke. "However, that is not important right now. What is this urgent matter you've brought before me?"

Amanda and Ben went into an account of their trip north and west, through the swamps and to the dead plains. Trading off now and then, they told of the castle-like mansion with its high walls and how they almost came to be trapped there if not for the help of a kindly servant. Of their escape and fleeing through Sotat, all the way to here in Emelan some months later.

"I'm sorry," said the Duke with a grave look on his face. "But, I can't go and avenge this wrong for you if that's what you had hoped…"

"No," replied Amanda quickly. "I just want a promise that you'll warn others of him. Other performers and bands that might come through here that head that way. My words don't carry much weight, yours might."

"I see," said the Duke, nodding his head slowly. "Done. Anything else?"

"Some dinner would be nice," piped up Ben, looking guilty as Amanda gave him a sharp look. "Sorry, but I'm hungry…"

"Words from the mouths of children," said Duke Verdis with a slight smile. "I'll give you dinner, in exchange for music during my meal, agreed? Good." He signaled for a servant to come and take them to their place. Both went followed quickly, eager to get a real hot meal and perhaps a place to sleep for the night. They were finally back in business and back home, and nothing could take it from them.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Jenny watched with interest as they took on their cargo, fellows from the warves that they'd hired bending their backs under the burdens of raw iron and copper and thick planks and blocks of wood. Their ship floated a tad bit lower than normal, but that was to be expected with all the cargo. Now all they needed was a few crewmembers.

Between the four of them, they figured they needed at the most was 5, and at least 3. As it was, storms and the weather weren't a problem with Nicole on board. Jennifer did fine doubling her duties as Captain and cook. Jack was good with the rigging, and Gwen was good at keeping the place clean, all they needed was someone who could read the maps and guide them by the stars, someone to steer, and someone to help Jack keep the sails and such working.

"Hullo!!" called a voice from the gangplank, catching the trio of humans and nymph in the middle of their discussion on how to hire someone. "Is the Captain onboard?"

"She is, but if you get to come see her is undecided," called back Jack. "What do you want?"

"I'm Trevor, and there are my two brothers Tanner and Tyler," called the young man, obviously trader with his stall leaning on his shoulder as he motioned to a younger and older fellow on either side. "We heard from a friend you're looking for crewmembers to sign on from a friend, and wish to have a try at it."

"Come on aboard, then," called Jenny. "Jack, keep an eye on the loading. Nicole, keep watch at the door, just to be sure. Gwen, you're with me." She paused for a moment, then added. "Actually, Gwen and Nicole keep an eye on the loading, Jack you're with me. No offense, but if they're trying to threaten their way on board I'd rather have him in a fight than you, Gwen."

Gwen smiled sweetly. "None taken."

"Aw, why do I miss all the fun…"

"Because you're six inches tall," shot Jack over his shoulder. 

"Shaddup!!"

"Hey, knock it off you two!!"

"Yes, Jenny…"

"That's Captain Jenny to you!"

"Did we come at a bad time?" asked the one who'd called himself Trevor, stopping just beside the gangplank on deck. 

"No, actually, this is what a good day is like among those two," replied Gwen with a smile. "You should see a bad day, the fur really flies then…"

"Right." Trevor gave her an odd look before following Jenny into the cabin that was hers, with a desk and some chairs for receiving people like this.

"Have a seat," said Jenny, taking hers behind the desk as Jack stood behind her silently. "What are you names again?"

"I'm Trevor," said the middle one again. "This is Tyler," he motioned to the younger one who barely came to his chest and couldn't be more than 10 or 11 years old. "And this is Tanner." He pointed to the older one beside him.

"Tanner, Trevor, Tyler." She nodded to each in turn. "So, what exactly is it you want?" 

"Permanent positions," said the oldest, nodding respectfully to Jenny. "We can't take just one or two journey positions, and we need some sort of steady income." He was a few shades lighter than Jack, but not by much, with honest black eyes that all three of his brothers shared. He looked neither kind, nor unkind, but was obviously one who kept his word and would do his best. He had to be 6 ft tall, relatively well muscled and with his easy stride and confident look it was obvious he knew what he wanted and wouldn't settle for less. 

"Tell me why we should hire you, then," asked Jack from behind Jenny. "And why permanent positions?"

"Our own Trader family fell on hard times," explained Trevor, looking rather abashed. "We are not asking for charity, only a job so we can support our elders back in their village. Eventually, we need to own our own boat and raise our own clan once more, and since yours must start anew as well, we figured you would understand." He was smaller and thinner than his older brother, but while he wasn't the strongest Jenny guess from his quick eyes and calculating looks that he was the smartest. 

"Can you guide by the stars and read maps?" asked Jenny.

"I can," replied Trevor. "And steer."

"Can you take care of the sails and the rigging? Help keep this tub afloat?"

"I can," said Tyler eagerly. Jenny looked at him, studying the boy for a moment. Small and wirey, he looked like a monkey and could probably climb the masts like one as well. Unlike his brothers, who both wore sea boots, he went barefoot and his hair hung in dread locks around his head. All three brothers, wore the same canvas sloops and durable shirt, but Trevor wore a tunic over his while Tanner sported a leather vest and Tyler a hood of sorts.

"What about you, Tanner, what can you do?" asked Jack carefully.

"I can fix anything, rig anything, and lift anything that you can't," came the simple, terse reply. The Captain and First mate exchanged glances, Jenny picking up a piece of paper and sliding it over to them.

"Here's your contract, sign here."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Rupal bent over the financial records in the kitchen, the remains of a pie beside her and bottles of ink with quills spread out wherever. The harvest had come in well, and with a little luck and a tight hand on their money they'd make it through all right. 

Her eyes began to droop as she worked out the budget for the rabbit feed, her head starting to dip but jerking herself back to reality every time her head touched the paper. Getting some coffee from the pot Kaitlin left out, she kept working and forced her eyes to stay open regardless of how tired she felt.

Moving on to the horses and cows, because they could live on the same fodder, she easily got through that before moving onto the goats and sheep. That was little trickier, because even though it was around November in their world and sheep had been sheared awhile ago, they still weren't sure to sell a few for the very handsome prices they'd been offered. Ready cash was always handy, but the sheep still might be worth more in the long run. Especially if it had a healthy lamb a year and always stayed with the herd.

Now to their food supplies and winter needs. Rupal's head began to hang lower and lower, and no matter how loud and long she yawned or amount coffee she gulped down she could hardly keep herself awake. The quill falling from her fingers and the book before her making a fine pillow, Rupal fell fast asleep and didn't even wake when Libby woke up the next morning and forced Kaitlin awake to help her carry Rupal to the couch downstairs. 

"It's not my fault she works so late," muttered Kaitlin, her eyes barely opened and hair still sticking in all directions from having been dragged from bed. 

"It's your fault she can't work during the day because of all the noise you make," countered Libby.

"Hey, blame Cheekums for last week. I wasn't the one who let the whole chicken coop in the kitchen!"

"You shouldn't have strung his underwear from the barn in the first place."

Kaitlin thought about it, then sighed. "Ok, perhaps, but it was funny though…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia was the first to spot the low building make of mud bricks and it's lean, sunblackened occupant outside. "Over here, you guys!!" she called over her shoulder, beckoning them to hurry over the sandy dune their camels had faltered on. At the first town at the edge of the desert, they'd been given these creatures in exchange for the horses and had been riding them ever since. Olivia didn't particularly like them, Randy hated them, and Bryanna, as usual was neutral. Right about now, though, none of them cared what they were riding as long as it got them to some shelter, and soon.

"So, you are the students I have heard of," said the man, bowing to her as Olivia went on ahead and dismounted slowly, her muscles sore from riding so long. 

"We're students, but I don't know who would've told you about us," replied Olivia, giving him a good once over. His skin was tan and leathery from being so long in the sun, his eyes darks and quick, and his mouth always ready to curve into a smile. He dressed like the others did here, in simple robes with a long vest over them and a hood-like turban on his head. With a beard on his face and short black hair apparent under the turban, he looked more like a desert prince than a desert mage, but then again what did she know?

"My friends tell me lots of things," he replied, motioning to a scorpion that had appeared out of nowhere and began to crawl up his leg. "The scorpions and the snakes, they're really not as dangerous as one would think and are quick affectionate at times. That and they tell me when visitors are on the way, and take the hidden paths to me that humans don't know of."

"Your friends wouldn't happen to inhabit your house with you, would they?" asked Olivia carefully. "Not that they aren't very nice, I'm sure, but some of us don't care to wake with a snake in our bed."

"Not if I tell them to leave," he replied, taking the scorpion from his leg and placing it on the ground. "Come, let's get you settled in and wait for your friends before we start our first lesson…hypnotizing!"

Olivia followed him, her bags flung over her shoulder as she eyed the scorpion he'd left outside the door warily. "Fun."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben played to their hearts content in the Summersea Market Square, Amanda sitting on the ruins of what was once a stone wall with Ben standing beside her and Lyssa guarding their bowl of coins as always. 

"Here," she said, giving Ben a copper and sending Lyssa with him into the crowd. "Go get yourself something sweet while I find an Inn for us tonight. Don't worry about finding me, I'll find you, ok?"

"Ok," replied Ben, trusting his sister entirely as he took the coins from her hand and sped off into the crowd. Silven held on to his shoulder, and Amanda could hear her chattering angrily the whole way for him to slow down.

She poked her head into one of the Inns they'd performed in before, quickly getting the attention of the owner. The man gave her an appraising look, matching her stare for stare before nodding his head with a smile. "Thought you'd be back around eventually, just thought it would be sooner than this," he said with a nod. "Come on, you can have your corner again, and we split your tips, fifty-fifty, for a room and dinner."

"Thirty-seventy," replied Amanda. "All we need is a blanket and a place by the fire."

"Suit yourself," replied the man with a nod. "Be back here soon, things will start picking up in awhile."

"I will," promised Amanda, following her magic's line back to her brother. Instead of a rope, it was more like a homing signal in a certain pitch and pattern that seemed to match him the best. She followed it and found the two at the fountain, sharing a caramel stick between the two and with a bit of chocolate that he held up to her with a smile on his face.

"Thought you might want this," he said.

"You really shouldn't be feeding my addiction like this, you know," she scolded him gently, taking it and nibbling it slowly so as to relish the taste. "Come on, I've got us a spot at the Darkins' again."

"Ok!" The three of them walked off arm in arm with the squirrel bounding back and forth between the two. Things were looking up more than ever, and if things kept going the way they had been it wouldn't be long before they were entirely back in business. All they needed to do now as visit the old troupe and go see the two dedicates at Winding Circle, and everything would be fine.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Jenny and Tyler went ashore after sailing south for several days, a steady breeze keeping them on course that Nicole provided and hitting no storms along the way. The port they were at was known for its need of raw metal, and between the two they made a decision of how much they could afford to sell and that which they would keep before taking sample to go see how much they could bargain it for at best.

"Just let me do the talking," said Jack carefully. "With raw materials, you can't be nice to the _lugsha, I meant worker, you're going to be selling it to. If it were finished products I'd have asked that Gwen girl to come because she can be a sweet and get them to buy it in a heartbeat, but not with this stuff."_

"Sure," replied Jenny with a nod. "You get me a good price, you get a full share. That fair?"

"That's fair."

They walked up and down the streets through the markets, eventually finding the blacksmiths and metal workers along that avenue. Trevor wandered around for awhile, listening to the talk around them before choosing the first smithy to start with. The man in charge was your usual blacksmith, well-muscled and tall with sooty streaks all over himself and eyes that squinted from being the in dark so often.

"Trader," he said, giving Trevor a curt nod. "Do you need something?"

"We have a shipment here of raw materials we're willing to sell," replied Trevor. The two went back and forth, going through the normal Trader formalities when they worked with lugsha and eventually struck a deal that satisfied Trevor far more than it did the smithy.

"Have it brought to me smithy tonight, after the shop closes," said the man slowly. "You'll have your money then."

"Very well," replied Trevor with a nod. He turned and walked away, saying to Jenny in Tradertalk, "Slow-witted kaq, I could've driven him down more but it's not worth the risk in an unfamiliar port."

"Hm." Jenny didn't say anything, just went back and gathered up the rest to haul the ore off the boat and into the wagon they rented at the port. It didn't matter what he thought of the man, nor how he got the price, as long as they made an honest profit and could keep the ship running was all she cared about. Right now, she didn't know when the others would come or when things would change, so she had to plan for the future. No more taking things one day at a time, she had to know what she could do if her friends didn't show for a couple years. 

"How much did we make?" asked Tanner as he hauled the last box up, then jumped up into the driver's seat and pulled Jenny up beside him. The rest piled into the back, the two horses that came with the wagon picking up their feet and starting down the street at Tanner's urging.

"A silver crescent more per pound than we bought it for," replied Trevor proudly. 

"Very nice…"

"Who's watching the boat?" asked Jenny, seeing all seven of them including Nicole.

"The winds," replied Nicole with a grin. "If someone tried to get aboard before we get back, they'll be knocked off into the sea and no one can break it because it's not a spell I just asked them to." 

"Oh, ok…" They delivered the goods and go the money, each getting their fair share which amounted to twenty silvers apiece. Jenny kept an extra five back which was going to be used to restock the ship, but since it was less than what everyone else got no one really cared in the least. Trevor and Tanner took theirs to the Trader post there, sending it, with a message, back home where it would be used to care for their elder family members. Tyler's was then split up between the three, which was more than enough for them in their opinion.

"Anyone for dinner an ale!" called Gwen, pointing to the nearest decent-looking tavern nearby and heading for it without further hesitation.

"Would ale be anything like beer?" asked Jack.

"About as close as you'll get to it in this world," replied Jenny with a shrug. "Come on, I'm not going to have any but you can get some if you want…"

"Can I have an ale?" asked Tyler, tugging on Tanner's pants.

"No, you can't," he replied. "And I'm assuming neither can the tiny one, because three drops and she'd be drunk off her…ah!" He fell forwards on his face, knocked over from some unknown source from behind.

"What?" asked Nicole as everyone looked at her, sitting ever so innocently on Gwen's shoulder. "I didn't do anything."

"Right…"

She chuckled to herself, standing up and striking a pose. "BEWARE THE POWER OF THE NYMPH!!"

Tyler just stared as Trevor ignored her completely, Tanner slowly getting to his feet with an odd look on his face. "…you have got to be kidding me."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kailin lay on her back in the loft of the barn, looking at the sky with Alexa and Jeesie around her, their heads close together as they watched the sky change colors with the setting sun.

"Don't you have to make dinner?" asked Jess a bit pointedly.

"Nope, it's one of their turns tonight," replied Kaitlin, nabbing the basket she'd brought with her. "But for us, I make…cinnamon scones!!"

"YEAH!!" They tore into the basket, decimating the pile of sweet, wrapped pastries that always melted in your mouth when made by Kaitlin. After they'd been well stuffed, and the stars had begun to come out, Kaitlin lay back again and looked at the stars, pointing to them with her free hand, the other still holding half a scone.

"What do you think's up there?" she asked, a dreamy look coming to her eyes.

"It's just the sky and the stars," replied Jess with a wave of her hand. "What's there to thin or wonder about?"

"Sometimes, I dream that I can fly up and touch them," added Alexa with a sigh. "But it's only a dream, and I know there's really no way I'll ever be able to."

"Where I come from, we think there's things like Aliens out there," said Kaitlin.

"Aliens?" asked Jess. "What are those?"

"Are they scary?" asked Alexa quietly. "They don't sound very nice…"

"Oh, they can be!" replied Kaitlin with a grin. "They can also be real mean. We don't know if they actually exist, but me and my friend once made a story about them, and it went like this…"

She told them how one day, she and a friend had been lying on the floor during one of their school classes and had been bored out of their mind. Seeing something on the ceiling that was shaped like a globe with strange circles in it, and a little thing sticking out of the end, they asked themselves the question: what would happen if it wasn't some random part of the sound equipment, but instead an alien space ship? 

First came the blue aliens, which ate most everyone up except for those who were nice and helped fight back. They were only as tall as their ankle at the least or up to their calf at the most, but with their sharp teeth and claws they were quiet deadly. Most escaped by flooding the huge room they'd been in and crawling up these ropes that just appeared from the ceiling, or hiding in the room where the girls changed on top of the lockers. Just the smell from going in there killed most of the aliens, though, so they were fine.

Next came the blue aliens, and they were in trouble there because they could swim so they drained the room of water and whacked the blue aliens with random bits of debris. While their teeth weren't as sharp or their claws as long, they had a horn sticking out of their forehead that was very, very sharp. Eventually, they finished off those as well. But that's when their real troubles started, for the green aliens came!!

These ones could swim as well as they could run, could jump and climb the ropes, and were the most bloodthirsty of them all. Even the gym locker room didn't seem to faze them in the least. So, they did the last thing they could think of, they shoved the evil teachers towards them to be eaten along with annoying blondes and hoped they'd be poisoned to death. And it worked!! The greens fled after having tasted the vile flesh, but they left one little one behind. A small green alien, newborn from the looks of it with antennas on her head and a set of very, very sharp teeth. Kaitlin had adopted her on the stop and made Amanda her first aunt, bringing her into their happy and insane family for good.

"And that is how we got Patch," explained Kaitlin with a nod. She pulled her out of her pocket, showing her to the twins. "Patch, this is Auntie Alexa and Jess. Alexa and Jess, this is Patch. A small green alien baby who happens to like biting others, but has learned to like human food rather than humans themselves." She thought about it for a moment, then added with a sly grin, "Most of the time."

"Eh, she's a cute little tyke," admitted Jessi slowly, patting Patch while making sure to keep her fingers away from the creature's mouth.

"Can we have one too?" asked Alexa as Kaitlin continued to coddle and play with the little green alien in her hand.

"Sure," replied Kaitlin, sitting up as she stuck upon what she considered to be a brilliant idea. "I know! You can have a blue, Alexa, and you can have a red Jess!! Now all you have to do is pull them out of your pocket and name them!"

"Ok!" Alexa reached into her apron pocket, pulling out a little blue alien baby girl, with a spike coming from her forehead. "I'll name her…Blue."

"Blue's not a name," said Jess scornfully.

"No…but Blueberry is!" replied Kaitlin. "That can be her name, and it's Blue for short, ok?"

"Ok!" Alexa turned away, playing with her new blue friend while Jess reached down and fished a little red one from her front pocket. His head covered with fuzzed red hair, and a small forked tail, the little thing had fangs and teeth that made even Patch cringe. 

"What's his name?" asked Alexa curiously, Blueberry seated pertly on her shoulder. 

"Ike for short," replied Jess. "Ikenmike in full, after my dad's middle name," replied Jess, turning the little fellow over and over in her hands as he tried to find some flesh to bite at. "Hey!! That's enough, little man."

"I'll have Amanda write down the Patch song she made next time I see her," said Kaitlin with a grin. "And she can make one for you guys too!"

"What was the first verse of your song?" asked Alexa as Kaitlin and Patch stood up with a smile.

"Here's the first part…:"

She's cute and she's sweet 

_She's unusually neat_

_She likes to bite my toes_

_With green eyes and skin_

_But not really thin_

_She goes chomp upon my toes_

_Her name is Patch_

_Imagine that_

_Why, I don't have a clue_

_But one things for sure_

_We all love her_

_Even if she isn't blue._

"I can't remember the rest," said Kaitlin slowly. "But I'll figure it all out someday."

"It's still an interesting song," replied Jess with a shrug. "I want to hear the rest of it someday."

"Do you really think she'd write us songs too?" asked Alexa hopefully.

"If you're nice, she will," replied Kaitlin with a nod. "Oh! And if you give her chocolate, especially when she's been deprived of it for awhile or she'd depressed. Yeah."

"Do you think she'll take fudge?"

"Absolutely!"

"Let's go make some then."

"Ok!"

########

Libby looked up from where she'd been listening below in fear. One alien had been enough, now they had three. Lord help them all.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna worked in a desert field hospital with one of the charity groups that went around the poorer tribes every now and then, using it as some of her required service time as well as a chance to try the new techniques Master Scoake had taught them. He seemed to think it was clever, naming himself after the two different animals he worked with in some random fashion, but it didn't really matter to her. 

What mattered were the hypnotists techniques he'd taught them, mainly to make others forget physical pain, emotional pain, or some trauma they'd witnessed just for a long enough period of time that they'd be manageable while they were worked with or operated on. The less one had to use narcotics or magic to keep pain at bay, the more resources they had for those whom it wouldn't work for. 

Moving down the rows of beds where the waiting patients lay, she saw everything from minor cuts and infections to life threatening diseases that could take the person or child's life or anyone else's if not handled and dealt with properly. 

She was seeing to a person with a swollen leg from an infection when she called Olivia over, using her ice abilities to cool the swelling while Bryanna went in and fixed what busted veins that she could find as well as removing the infection. Randy walked by them, increasing the strength of the mage lights that hung in the room and giving the oil ones a boost so they'd burn brighter and longer. 

"Easy," murmured Bryanna, holding up a hand to Olivia who slacked off on her cooling. "Just a tad less….hm…ok, you can stop."

"Is everything ok?" asked the boy's father, sitting beside him worriedly.

"Yes, he'll be fine," replied Bryanna, looking up to give him a quick smile. "The infection should be gone…we'll just patch up that cut that started this whole mess and let you go on your way."

The man started reigning blessings, or what she assumed where, in his native tongue while she did just that, cleaning the jagged wound before putting in some numbing and healing salves and bandaging it up tight. 

"That's it." 

The boy woke from his induced trance-like state, wincing as the pain came back but also surprised, as he was able to move and even stand on his leg again. 

"Thank yous, marm," said the boy, nodded gratefully as his father helped him limp out of the tent and Bryanna moved on to the next patient.

"Keep that cut clean!" she called after him. "And no more putting river mud on it, you here? I don't care what you're grandmother said, it doesn't help a bit and is what caused the swelling to begin with!"

"Aye, marm!"

"How does it feel doing a good deed?" asked Randy as he came up beside them, reeking of oil. 

"What happened to you?" asked Olivia, seeing the robes he'd borrowed from Master Scoake were soaked in the stuff.

"Uh, just a lil' accident is all…" Randy sheepishly scratched his chin as he got several glares from some of the other oil-soaked attendants, one looking rather charred, actually…

"I don't want to know," decided Bryanna, shoving him out of the tent with her boot so she wouldn't have to touch him. "Go get changed." And went right on along.

"Fool," muttered Olivia as they began on the next limb-that's-swollen patient, this time a woman with arthritis so bad in both knees she could barely walk. "I can't believe he's actually managed to live this long without killing himself or losing some major body part."

"I know," replied Bryanna. "Unfortunately, it takes all kinds to make a world. We just happen to be stuck with him."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben walked along the streets of Summersea, content to take a day off from their usual post in the market and figure out what they were going to do next. "Why did we have to leave the tavern again?" asked Ben slowly. "I kinda liked it there, and the one lady always brought a peach for me so eat while we were having our dinner…"

#Aw, well, she only brought me some sunflower seeds, but I guess that's nearly as good# said Silven slightly, sitting on Amanda's shoulder lazily.

"She never brought me anything, so neh," replied Amanda, giving them both a mock glare. "Anyway, you know we can't stay in one place for too long. I do think we're safe as long as we're in Emelan, but we do need to go back an pay the Dedicates at Winding Circle a visit, and if we could going and looking around the country side for our friends wouldn't be a bad idea either."

Amanda sat down on a public bench, motioning for the server at the inn next door to bring them something to drink. A mug of ale and a mug of lemonade came a second later, Lyssa sharing Ben's as any form of alcohol disagreed with her in this body. 

"Now what, then?" asked Ben, sipping is drink as Lyssa dipped some into the little bowl Amanda had made her and sucked it from there.

"I don't know," admitted Amanda slowly. "I had thought to go ahead and go visit Rosethorn and Lark, at least they'd feed us and put us up for awhile."

"Hello, there," said a familiar voice as someone joined them on the bench. "Nice day, isn't it?"

Amanda looked at the fellow in surprise. "Gen?"

"Ha! I told you she'd remember me!" he crowed to his companion, the strongman who had held Ben up by his collar one time.

"I can't see why she'd want to," said the giant man, coming to stand before them as he gave Amanda a friendly wink. "If anything, I'd have forgotten you long ago, given the choice."

"Oh, well, I wasn't," replied Amanda with a mock scowl. "My memory has a way of remembering those things I'd most wish to get rid of…"

"Oh, my lady, how cruel of you," said Gen, holding his heart as if he'd been shot there with something. "My heart hath been sorely wounded, and only a kiss from thine fairly self will save me from it."

"In that case, I won't so we'll be rid of you at last," replied Amanda with a grin. 

"Ouch," said Ruben as Gen gave it up and grumbled about fair maidens who had too much a sense of humor. "Very well said, Briteyes. Come, Collin will want to know what news you have and will probably invite you to come perform with us in some fair we're going to this week. That is if you can come…"

"Yes!!" cried Ben, Gen having recovered and doing a ring trick with him, making it disappear with ease. "Can we, sis? Please oh please oh please??"

"Well, I guess so," replied Amanda as she ruffled his hair affectionately. "Come on, let's get to it and go see him. There's a lot to tell the old bird, you know."

"We heard you'd disappeared for awhile, there," admitted Ruben, "Heading northeast somewhere. Something happen?" Gen and Ben followed behind them as Ruben and Amanda took the lead, Silven riding patiently on Amanda's shoulder.

"A lot," came the short reply. "I'll explain it all when we get there."

"Ok…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Tanner and Jack sat across from each other on the deck with a box between them, miles of sea stretching on either side as Trevor kept them on course as Tyler climbed up and down the masts to rig the sails as Nicole asked him to. 

Before them lay a few feet of rope and some pins, Tanner going through each knot slowly and carefully until Jack could do it in his sleep and could name it without the slightest prompt on sight. 

"The pinned sheep shank," commanded Tanner, watching carefully as Jack ran through it as fast as he could. "Wait…stop…loop it the other way….there you go." Tanner inspected it when it was done. 

"See, I know it," said Jack, feeling very proud of himself.

"That's nice," replied Tanner with a shrug. "Now do a bowline. Then a sheet line."

"Oh, come on, a simple knot does just as well as these complex ones," muttered Jack, doing it anyway. "Besides, you and Tyler are the ones who mainly deal with these things, not me."

"So, doesn't mean you shouldn't learn," replied Jack. "Do it."

"Alright, alright…" Jack went through those two until Tanner deemed him fit to learn another, bringing up a cleat he'd nailed to a board from the stores. 

"Ok, now watch carefully," warned Tanner as he began. "This is known as belaying." He looped the line around the base, under the arms of the cleat, then brought it up and over diagonally, then around and under one arm, then over, around and under the other in a continuous figure either until he'd reached the end and tucked it under the last cross over. "Now, you try it."

"Ok." Jack took the rope from him and undid his handy work, slowly retracing his steps as best he could.

"You went the wrong way," corrected Tanner as he watched, undoing part of the work and showing him how to do it before he undid it again and let Jack try again. "Over, not under there."

"I got it."

Jack went through it, then did it again, and again. He closed his eyes and did it, using only feel to guide his way. 

"Not bad," admitted Jack as he watched him get faster and faster at it, only faltering occasionally when his attention was not on the task at hand. "Eh, we'll make a blue Trader of you yet." 

"Thank you, but I'll stay a black Trader as is, and hopefully get rid of the Trader part later on," replied Jack, going down to the scullery to bug Jenny into giving him some food. "Hey, Cap'n. How about some food?"

"Hey, Firstmate, how about you jump overboard?" Nicole called back from her spot above the door.

"I wasn't talking to you, minibrat." 

"Oh well."

"Don't make me tear off your wings!"

"I don't have any, moron!"

"Your legs will do just as well, then."

"You'd have to catch me first."

"I will, someday."

"I'd like to see you try…slow, clumsy lout."

"…I have a feeling I'd be insulted if I knew what that last word means." Jack turned and walked away, leaving Nicole collapsed in laughter as he muttered to himself about mini people with no respect for people bigger than them and black people trying to make him blue.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Libby watched with a shiver as the mare began to moan and wheeze, holding her head and trying to keep her calm as Alexa and Jess's father took care of the other end where the foal was coming from right then. She'd seen bunnies birthed and raised a dozen times, but this was a little different when the creature being born was a third your own size and the one having it was two of you. 

"Easy, girl, easy…" he murmured, keeping a hand on her flank so she'd know he was there. "That's it, nice and stead…here's the head!"

"That's nice…" Libby's voice sounded faint even to herself as she kept stroking the mare's nose and held it's halter so she couldn't try to bolt. This being her first birth, and Libby and the other fellow being there, the creature was nervous beyond all comprehension and wanted to do nothing more than bolt elsewhere.

"And the neck…there's his front legs, it looks like that friend of yours was wrong after all," said the man, helping the foal along it's way.

"Which I'm glad," said Libby softly as he put his knife away, which had been out in case they needed to cut the horse to get the foal out. 

"He's out," said the man, putting the foal to his mother's nose and the mother to the foal's nose so they imprinted on each other. Leaving the baby to suckle, the man watched them for a moment before turning around, meaning to talk to Libby but found she'd disappeared.

Libby appeared a moment later, wiping her face and looking rather pale.

"Are you ok?" asked the rancher, standing slowly.

"Yeah, sure," she replied slowly. "How is he? Or she?"

"He," replied the rancher with a grin. "A fine young colt. A bit on the big side, but he should grow up right strong for ye. Perhaps might even do better than yer other stud when it comes to breeding."

"Maybe," replied Libby, rubbing her forehead slowly. "Uh, thanks, I'll send some payment home with the twins tomorrow. I gained a colt, but I lost my dinner so I think I'm gonna go sleep for awhile…bye."

"Oh, ok, bye."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna and Randy gladly packed up their things, Olivia already having her belongings put together and ready to go. A gathering had begun outside the door of Scoake's front door of snakes and scorpions wanting in again, and they couldn't come in until the three students left, putting them on fairly unfriendly terms.

"Got your bags?" called Olivia from the front, just as eager to leave as they were. The hypnotism and such had been cool, as well as the truth spell he'd taught him, but the snakeskin and skeletons on the walls were just a bit too much. "The camels are ready to go."

"Just about…" Bryanna threw the last of her books in her saddlebag, the rest packed and ready to go. Randy finished at the same time, both of them hauling their things over their shouldering and heading for the door as quickly and politely as they could at the same time.

"Sorry to just learn and run!" called Bryanna over her shoulder, throwing her things on the camel before securing them tight and jumping in the saddle.

"Yeah, it's been fun, but we really need to go…"

"Get out of here, you young scamps," replied Master Scoake with a wave of his hand in mock anger. "Just don't forget what I've taught you, and use it well!"

"We will!"

"Now, my pretties," said Scoake as the trio galloped away, removing the ward an allowing the crawly creatures to invade his home once more. "Welcome home!!"

"He was nice, but a little crazy in the head," said Randy as they watched the scorpions crawl all over him and tangle themselves at his feet. "I'm just glad I don't have his power."

"I think you have to be a little crazy to be a mage," replied Olivia. "Which explains perfectly why we've become them."

"That is very true…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben were welcomed back into the troupe for this one festival, each taking the places they'd chosen and performing in them to the best of their ability. Collin had been appalled to hear what happened to them, and had suggested trying to raise a performing ban in that area, but others had suggested merely warning all those who came across their paths, and it was settled at that. 

Silven and Amanda had one of the tucked away corners of the lot they were given in the town, the squirrel girl perched charmingly on a table while Amanda called them to come and see her do her tricks. She juggled, she pranced, she mimicked those in the crowd, and she even pulled coins and treats from children's ears, mouths, and nose. 

Ben had chosen to go with the masked tumblers for the night, replacing the usual top guy in the stack and pyramids as the young fellow had slipped and broken his arm the week before. Still on the mend, it would be awhile before he could tumble again. In the meantime, Ben made a fine replacement for this three-night event.

Dressing in the same black outfits with gold trim and a black mask covering the bottom half of his face, Zorro style, the only way Amanda could tell him apart from the others was by his extremely small size. Not that Ben wasn't big for his age, he was just 6 or 7 years younger than most of the tumblers in that group.

#Explain to me again why you're doing this and not your lute or panpipes?# asked Lyssa she did her usual bows after another set of tricks. She scampered up Amanda's arm and received her 'treat' before jumping back to her 'stage' and juggling some copper coins from the tip bowl. The small crowd cheered, young ones reaching to touch the 'pwetty squiggle' as they called her as their mothers held them back.

"Just didn't feel like it," murmured Amanda under her breath, collecting the coins from the bowl thus far and putting them in her pouch. "You know how it is, just lost my drive for a few days."

#Hope it doesn't last. For the sake of our rather empty bellies and purse, that is. You can't eat if you can't make money.#

"It never does. Gimme a few days and I'll be plunking away at those strings more than ever."

Lyssa did a somersault, whisking up the arms of on of the audience members to give the man a kiss on the cheek before zipping back to the table and whistling innocently like she hadn't done anything at all. The crowd laughed uproariously as Lyssa bowed as charming as ever.

"You naughty, naughty girl, Silven…"

#That's right I am!# She thought about it, then added. #Squirrel, anyway.#

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Brenna drove the wagon as Libby rode up beside her in the front, Cheeks, Rupal, Kaitlin, and the twins all in the back as they trundled on down to the local fair. It had come late this year, but supposedly the acts were even better than those the year before and it was to be the best festival of all until next Midsummer.

"What are you going to go see?" asked Libby as she bounced up and down in her seat, as happy as can be.

"Me, the horses and weapons shows," replied Brenna. "That, and any trick stuff they might have. Don't go playing most of their games, though, they're all set against you."

"I know, I know…how about you, Cheeks?"

"Um, then dancing girls Alexa said something about and the brewery." He held his hands up as all the girls shot him a glare death. "What?! Can't a guy have some fun??"

"That depends on the type of fun…"

"Ok, then, what about you?" asked Cheeks, motioning back to Libby.

"First off, the fabrics they're supposed to have brought," said Libby quickly. "I want to find some good cotton and canvas for this next wear, perhaps some wool too for the winter, and then some pink dyes, and then I'm gonna go and look at the trick animals and see if they have any as amazing as my bunnies used to be!"

"Ok…what about you, Rupal?"

"I have no idea," she confessed with a shrug. "I'm just here to go along with the ride and make sure no one ends up spending every penny we own." She glanced at Libby and Kaitlin meaningfully, both the epitomes of angles right then.

"Who me?" asked Kaitlin, who quickly dropped the guise and went back to her usual mischievous self. Libby couldn't because she's so cute she can't help but look anything but angelic. "Well, anywho, I know what I'm going to do. First to the strong men, then a trip around the vendors for some sweets, maybe pick up a new recepie here or then and then cause massive amounts of mayhem and chaos wherever I can! MUAHAHAH!!!"

"Remind me not to claim her once we're inside the gates," whispered Brenna to Libby.

"Right."

"I heard that!"

Brenna looked at her innocently. "Heard what?"

"You little vixen…"

"Uh huh, you won't see me denying it!"

"The twins are with you, right?" asked Cheeks, ending that discussion then and there.

"Yuppers!"

"Ok, good, don't lose each other because it's hard enough to avoid you when you're together and even worse when you're all spread apart."

"Cheekums!" All three adopted their 'hurt' face as they pouted as one. "I thought you liked being around us."

"If I said that, it was a lie…"

"Aw, Cheeks, you don't have to be shy around us…"

"Help!!" cried Cheeks as he clambered away from their advance, ending up in Libby's lap who merely switched places with him and shooed them back. 

"No molesting Cheeks while the wagon is moving!" yelled Brenna.

"Aww…"

"You can do it when we've stopped," she added quickly with a wink back at them.

"YEAH!!"

"Brenna!!"

"Sorry, Cheeks, the help goes to the highest bidder, and Kaitlin did make such a fine lunch and dinner to take with us…"

"But I plowed the fields!"

"Eh, oh well."

"Aww…" 

And so they went, each splitting off to do their own thing for the night after meeting back up with each other several hours later. All of them had seen the tumblers, and while each thought there was something familiar about the youngest of the group they let it slide with comparing him to one of their own group. However, something seemed to draw them away from the sideshows. Perhaps it had something do with the first one they saw, where a man was swallowing large spiders and small snakes whole and live. Still, whatever the case, the two groups missed each other entirely, and their lives continued as their paths parted again.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Jenny and Trevor sat together by the gangplank, their port fees paid and wondering what they should do now. "We have enough to stay here for the winter," advised Trevor carefully. "Not lavishly, but well enough off. Certainly not in poverty. And if we introduce our goods bit by bit into the market, say a few rare dyes now and some of the silks we brought on board, then sell the rest of it at a slightly lower price two months from now. If we live on the boat and don't treat ourselves too much, we may even have a good deal of profit left in the end."

"It sounds good," admitted Jenny with a nod, "And it has the same risk we'd be taking even if we left right now, having money to go on later or not, but we need to consider our options carefully. What if we didn't sell the silks to the same people, as well as the dyes, and instead all went to a different one and told them the wonders their 'rival' has brought and how much better theirs is? Would that not help?"

"It could," replied Trevor slowly. 

"She's got a good head on her shoulders," commented Tanner from where he was teaching Jack a rather hard lesson on how to use his staff, Tyler down below with Gwen making cookies for them later. "I'm guessing that's why she's Captain, even if she's never sailed before in her life."

"Eh, actually it most just pure chance…" admitted Jenny with a shrug. They'd been told bits and parts about the group's past, but as far as those three knew the four had lived in this world all their lives and knew no other just like themselves. Jenny just hoped it didn't come as too big of a shock when it would come out in the end.

"We stay, then, and do as you said," agreed Trevor after giving it some careful thought. "Come on, Tan, let him rest for awhile. We've got some work to do, just like back home."

"All right, I could use the change of pace, I suppose."

"How you feeling?" asked Gwen as she came up from below, handing Jack a cup of water. 

"Beaten," he replied tiredly. "My gosh, that man fights like a devil. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was the devil."

"What makes you say he isn't?" asked Gwen, fairly puzzled.

"Because that little thing over there is," replied Jack as he pointed at Nicole flying in the air with her breezes by the sails. From down there, she looked like a small bird, but the crew knew better. "I dun care what you say, man, that creature is the embodiment of the devil if not the devil hisself."

"Right *cough*obssesive*cough* whatever you say, Jack…" He'd gone off into his little world, plotting Nicole's demise as slowly and painfully as he could imagine. Luckily, he had a very limited imagination. 

"Gwen, would you use rope or chains to hang someone?"

"Why only use those two? What about leather, or vines, or wire?"

"Uh…I dunno…guess I just never realized it, is all."

"You'd don't realize a lotta things, sweety." Gwen looked over the crew one last time before going and getting the cookies Tyler was watching over. They were a little noisy, and not all that nice, but they were in this mess together and that's all that really mattered. Or at least that's what she assumed some sappy writer would say right about now. 

"Gwen, the cookies are done!!" called Tyler eagerly. 

"Coming!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Ah, yes, a chapter at last. *Ducks pointy things thrown at her* Hey, my drive left me halfway through and I had to force myself to finish it. Next chapter should be posted with this one, so review and go enjoy!! ^_^

*sniff* Chocolate donations can be sent to my email address, for this author is suffering greatly from withdrawl. Help me? Please?!

~Crosseyedbutterfly~


	8. 

Multiple chapters! Multiple chapters! *Ducks pointy objects* Hey, I know they're late but there's multiple chapters!!  ^_^ Go on, read, I know. Oh, btw: this chapter _will_, I repeat**_ will,_ have more violence and insanity than past chapters. Gore, blood, pain, yeah, we got it all. If it's worse than normal, I blame it on the depressive state of the author due to some unforeseen issues that have come up. But other than that, enjoy!**

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Brenna grilled the chicken over the open flames, taking care not to burn herself as she cooked them to perfection while Kaitlin pulled the rolls and roasted vegetables from the oven below. 

"Don't you take move," warned Kaitlin as she slowly slid the pan out of it's rack in the oven. "If you do, it's gonna leave and mark and it won't be pretty, either."

"I won't," replied Brenna, turning over one of the chicken breasts with her metal spatula. "But if your hands slip, and it gets me, I'll leave a mark on you that'll be even less pretty."

Kaitlin just grunted and heaved the dish up as quickly as she could, setting it on one of the metal racks above to cool. "Aahh!! My hands, my hands my hands….!!" Running them under the pump, Brenna gave her an odd look as bits of steam rose from the now red flesh.

"Kaitlin! Did you lift that out without using something to protect you hands?!" demanded Brenna angrily. "You moron…!"

"No, I did!!" cried Kaitlin, holding up the two oven mitts, "But I used the wrong side that's all thin and didn't realize it until it was too late…" *sniff**sniff* "I couldn't drop the pan and scream cuz it would've hit you and then I really would've had it coming…"

"You poor, witless fool," murmured Brenna, patting her on the head before removing the chicken from the grill onto a platter. "Come on, let's get all this out there for the rest of them. Are your hands going to be alright, or do we need to take you to the doctor?"

"They're fine," replied Kaitlin, taking the oven mitts and after making sure she was using the right side grabbed the pan of rolls and knocked them off into a basket with a flick of her wrist. "Ok, let's go!"

"You know, the way you just recover like that really makes one wonder just how human you really are," said Brenna thoughtfully, setting the table as everyone trickled into the room from whatever they'd been doing. Cheeks from his room, Libby from the barn, and obviously Brenna and Kaitlin from the kitchen.

"Um, Brenna, you set one extra place," said Cheeks as everyone sat down, one place left empty. 

"No I didn't!" replied Brenna indignantly, counting on her hands. "There's five of us, remember? You, Rupal Libby, Kaitlin, and me. And there are five plates. See? One two three four five."

"Then who's missing?" asked Kaitlin. "Cuz there's five of us and five plates and there's still one spot empty…"

"I'm home, everyone!!" called a familiar voice from the front, then the sound of someone taking off their cape and setting some bags on the floor.

"Oh, Rupal went to the market today, that's right!" said Kaitlin, smacking herself in the forehead. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you guys…"

"You guys won't believe it," said Rupal somewhat calmly, taking her seat as she filled her glass from the pitcher of water that sat on the table. "We made a fourth more than I predicted we would at best!" She said all this while hardly raising her voice more than normal, and while a normal passerby would assume she was saying it like it one would say what time it was. But the others saw her small grin and the light in her eyes and knew it was fabulous news.

"How did you get the prices that high?!" demanded Libby. "There's no way it was the sheep we sent in, I checked with the other shepherd fellow and our animals were exactly the same."

"It was the produce," replied Rupal with a nod. "Apparently it was the best there was. I set our prices even with the others there, then people started offering more than I was asking, and I just lifted the prices little by little and people were more than glad to pay. Had I known that, I would've started them higher to begin with!"

"That means we can afford to expand the rabbit coup and add on to the hen house!"

"I vote we get some more horses, strong ones who can work in the fields. That way I'm not pulling a plow instead."

"Lazy Cheeks…"

"Hey, I don't see you out there doing it!"

"I want the kitchen redone! That, or add another wing to the house, so we'll have more room."

"No, let's higher on some helpers so we can expand our gardens and fields, then bring in more produce next year!"

"WAIT!!" Everyone stopped arguing as Rupal stood slowly, and for once looked down on them since she was standing and they were sitting. "We CANNOT spend the extra money we made."

"But-"

"Stop," cut in Rupal, waiting for the murmurs to vanish before continuing slowly. "We need a nest egg. Something to fall back on in hard times. I said we made a fourth better than I best expected. So, we take what was best expected, use that for what we need, and set the extra fourth aside for later. That way, when we really need to have the hen house expanded or the extra wing added, we'd have the money to do it. Right now, it's not imminent that we get those things done. What if a storm comes and takes the roof off or the crops fail next year? We don't have any sort of insurance here, so we have to make our own."

"I agree," said Cheeks after a few moments of silence. "The horses can wait, I don't mind pulling a plow for another season or two. Besides, it's great exercise."

"And I suppose we really don't need to expand quite yet," added Brenna slowly. "It is our first year and all. I just really wanted this place to take off…"

"Yeah, she's right."

"I suppose, though having a bigger kitchen would've been nice…I wanted a huge oven that I could cook a whole Cheeks in at once…" She gave Cheeks an evil look and licked her fangs, at which Cheeks took off at a dead run with Kaitlin hard on his heals yelling for him to come back and be roasted like a good Cheekums.

"HEEEELP!!"

 ~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben walked arm in arm under the trees, the sun setting to their side as they left the gate of Summersea far behind them. "Are you sure we can't make Winding Circle tonight?" asked Ben tiredly, leaning on his sister for support.

"No, but we'll get at least partially there tonight so we can get there first thing tomorrow morning," replied Amanda with a grin as she ran an affectionate hand through her brother's hair. He held in his hands his new hat that she'd bought him today, dark blue and black with silver bells at the end of each peek, it was a joker's hat and it suited him well.

#Hmm…zzz….acorns…more acorns…zzzz…no!! Don't take my…. Zzzz… acorns…#

"I swear, she keeps turning more and more animal all the time," joked Amanda as Lyssa continued to sleep on her shoulder draped over it like a piece of cloth as she blissfully snored away.

"How much longer do you think we'll have to keep lying low like this?" asked Ben as they turned off into a set of fields owned by a shepherd and his family and they'd run into awhile back. 

"Just a little way," she replied with a smile. "Don't worry, Ben, whatever happens, I promise I will always be here protect you."

He hugged her tighter around the middle. "I know…Momma Manda."

"I'm not your Momma," she replied, giving him a gentle cuff on the side of the head. They saw the family through the hut's window eating their meager meal and veered off to the side, content to sleep in one of the haystacks for the night. "Come on, we've slept outside before and it'll be a warm for a few days yet before it gets to cold to do so. Let's take advantage of it while we can."

"But I wanted to see Brad," replied Ben with a frown. "He's my age, you know, and he said he'd teach me how to whistle with grass next time I saw him…"

"You can go see him in the morning, then," promised Amanda as she sat with her back to the hut on the other side of a haystack out of the sun. "Come on, we've got enough with us to make a decent dinner without pillaging some of their meager fair. I'd rather not take from them, they're so large it must be nearly impossible to keep everyone fed at the same time."

"He's only got six kids, his wife, and both sets of grandparents," Ben reminded her with an offhand shrug. "That's not so big."

"Not so big?! That's 12 people under the same roof!!"

Ben frowned again. "Really, I don't get it." He counted them for a moment on his fingers. "That's only twice our own family…" 

"Just let it go." Amanda brought out the bread and cheese, plus a few withered apples she'd saved from before. Flicking Lyssa's tail, she woke the squirrel easily and soon all of them had polished down what little they had left as far as food.

"I really hope we make it to Winding Circle tomorrow," said Ben as he sorrowfully looked down into the empty haversack. "Dedicate Gorse always gives me honey buns and blueberry tarts whenever we visist…"

#You're making me drool, kid!# moaned the squirrel girl as she curled up in the haystack. Amanda had already lain down, her things all packed away expect for her cape and lay buried in the straw beside her. Ben lay down next to her, curled up to her side as usual while using her stomach for a pillow. #Man, now you've got me going, with the sunflower seed cakes he gives me without the husks and the candied nuts…hm…# The squirrel drifted off to sleep, drooling slightly her tail pulled around herself like a blanket as she burrowed under Amanda's hair for warmth for the night.

"G'night…Momma Manda…"

"Grr…night, Ben."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Nicole sat on the edge of the sip, playing with her winds as they dipped in and out of the surf, scooping up bits of water and spraying them around in patterns and designs that Nicole had them hold for a moment, then let them drop back into the sea.

"Hey, you're getting pretty good at that," commented Trevor as he came to stand beside her, something hidden in his hands under the railing of the deck.

"Yup," she replied, as pleased as a child who'd just been given a bit of candy. "Watch this one…" She manipulated the winds with her fingers as if they were attached to strings, the bits of spray and water weaving themselves in and out of each other to create a small dragon. It blinked at Trevor for a moment before she let it go and the whole thing disappeared.

"That…that's amazing," whispered the Trader, whistling in appreciation. "Anyway, I brought something for you." He hoisted the package above the rail, whisking it's cover off to show a small, stout bird that was obviously rather strong but somewhat docile as it allowed the Trader to scratch it on the head.

"What is it?" asked Nicole as she turned from the winds and sat before the cage, her and the bird staring back and forth at each other quizzically. It was gray with a black tail, the tail feathers long and rounded and the wings rather short compared to the other birds around there. 

"A shrike," explained Trevor with a nod. "A predatory song bird. Thought you might like it, as the ones around here are known to be particularly intelligent and easy trained. After all, having your own way of getting around would not exactly be the worst thing in the world, would it?"

"Is it a he or a she?"

"A he. A gelded he, you couldn't have him running off after every cute female shrike that flies by, right?" He winked at the minigirl in a friendly manner. "Just ask if you have any problems, he's already been imprinted with me so if he ever gets away from you he'll probably come find me, ok?"

"Ok, thanks!"

"No problem!"

The bird and human/nymph started at each other for a moment, the one in a cage and the other sitting on the rail before it. 

"You're not going to eat me are you?" asked Nicole carefully, cocking her head to the side. 

The bird just whistled back and cocked its head to the other side as well.

"Is it like looking in a mirror?" asked Jack from the other side of the deck. "But, really can't be. Because from what I can see, the bird's the more intelligent one of the pair, and if it were a reflection you'd be exactly the same."

"JACK!!" The unlucky black boy found himself scooped up from a sudden gust of wind and bowled over the side of the ship, getting a good dunking in the freezing waters below.

"YOU STUPID NYMPH!!" He went silent as the waves pulled him under again, then managed to force his way to the surface again.

"This really isn't helping things, you know," said Gwen as Tanner hauled the cursing Trader back on board. "If I have to keep hanging clothes out to dry because you're throwing them in the sea, I'm going to make you use your breezes to dry them faster instead of playing around all day. It's been 3 months since we got here, you'd think you two would've learned to tolerate each other by now."

"And how are you planning to do that?" demanded Nicole. "It's not my fault I'm not allowed off the ship, and he won't leave me alone! Besides, you have no way of making me work!"

Gwen held up a cookie.

"Ok, maybe you do…"

Giggling to herself, she gave Nicole a tiny piece and ate part of it herself. "That's a good little mini person…"

Nicole glared up at her as she ate the cookie anyway. "I don't like you no more."

 ~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Are you ready?" asked the mage across from her, holding his hands in front of himself so his thumb and first finger touched about a foot from his chest.

"Uh, sure," replied Olivia, holding her hands palm up in front of her. 

"Ok…go!!"

The mage brought together a ball of energy before she could even react, sending it at her as she quickly threw together a wall of ice between herself and the projectile heading towards her. The wall shattered on impact, the mage shaking his head as he came over and observed her work.

"Still too thick at the bottom," he chided roughly. "You can't spend all your time on the base if it won't protect you… Besides, it does little good as it is because a fight with a mage doesn't stand still, and what might've protected you at first could be what kills you later on if you're unable to move it."

"The what the hell am I supposed to do?" asked Olivia, looking extremely annoyed with the Mage Master. "Ice is Ice is Ice, it's a stationary object…"

"Now that's where you're wrong," replied the mage with a slow grin. "You're letting the boundaries of your mind create boundaries for your magic. Even a hedgewitch can create wonders because she can stretch and bend her magic to her will, working it to it's fullest because she does not allow herself to have boundaries with it."

"What do you mean 'boundaries'?" replied Olivia, looking fairly confused. "It's a solid, it has to have a base for it to reach up here, and it has to be moved physically in order for it to move! Those are basic laws of physics…"

"Ah! Physics!" He tapped the crumbled ice shield that still reached up to his waist. "Now, by the rules of physics, is it possible for this structure to have been made? To just appear there?"

"Um…no," replied Olivia carefully. "Because matter is neither created nor destroyed, it merely converts itself from one form to another."

"Therefore, why should rules like gravity and weight have to matter either," added the Master Mage with a nod. "Now, see this energy?" He created another globe in his hand. "I want you to do the same, but don't touch it! Let it rest just above your physical self. And don't think of it in a solid sense, because that's when the rules of physics you've learned apply. Think of it as a ball or globe of your power, all structured together to appear solid but being nothing more than magic, because that's what your ice structure really is."

"I see…" Olivia created the ball of ice hovering above her palm, watching it for a  few moments before trying something else. She began to float it in the Master Mage's direction, taking it from ice into a ball of snow and sleet.

"Very, very good!" said the Master Mage, giving her an approving smile before turning to look at some texts. "Now…" *plop* "AH!! COLD!!"

Olivia laughed to herself quietly as the mage wiped the snowball off his head as fast as he could, the icy mixture having landed right on his bald spot. 

"I would say good aim," he called over his shoulder as he dried the last bits of it out with a towel. "By I'm balding so quickly that the spot is quite easy to see…"

"I know."

"Do you see what I was getting at, though?" he asked, creating a shield of his own as he came to stand beside her. "See how it moves with me? It's just of magic energy, same as yours only yours will take on the physical form of ice. See how it's structured to deflect, not meet head on? It's all about strategy when it comes to protecting others, girl, about playing mind games…"

"You don't need magic to play mind games with someone," muttered Olivia under her breath as she created the shield, letting it hover before her as she began to give it it's physical properties, but still kept in mind that it was only energy and weighed nothing at all.

The Master Mage heard her and shrugged. "With another mage, you do. Now, on to projectiles of magic…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Mike wandered into the band room, grabbing random school books he found there that people had left the year before. "And elp book…I hated that class…oh, here's a nice psychology book, that should be good fuel…and a pre-cal one! Yes, just what I needed to finish things off…oh, hello there!" Mike picked up the leather bound book that was lying behind the pillar, reading the title to himself. "Hm…Circle of Magic…probably some witch text book, because I know there's a few in the school, and it'll add just the topper I needed for the burning. Let's go!" 

He walked out the door, whistling to himself with all the books tucked under his arm. 

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kristen and Chris stepped out of the truck from opposite sides, a skinny little kid hopping out of the back as well. They were in the student parking lot of Providence High school, with a special secret mission left up to them.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Cameron?" asked Chris for the fifth time, scratching his head as he looked at the huge high school before them. He was a huge guy, standing over six feet tall and with thick arms and legs that made most think twice before messing with him. And while he might be a little imposing to some, with his serious expression when he was thinking to himself, he was really just a bid teddy bear at heart. Dark chocolate colored skin and dark eyes, he was more noticeable than normal by both his companions who were a pale white.

"First off, it's Cam, not Cameron," said the boy, scratching his nose, which was sprinkled with orange freckles. His orange-red hair stood up in all directions, though it was cut close to his head. Pale white, skinny, and with glasses perched on his small nose, and braces on his teeth, he obviously wasn't an athlete and probably could only run fast enough to lose the bullies who often times picked on him at school. "And yes, I'm sure. Her mom said to, so come on!" His green eyes flashed at him dangerously, daring him to defy him even though Chris was three times his size.

"Leave him alone, Chris, we're just gonna grab her and go," replied Kristen, tucking her long, straight brown hair back into a low ponytail. She wasn't much taller than Chris, and her long legs had earned her several nicknames in the past that weren't exactly complimentary even though she looked great in short skirts. Her green eyes caught his and dared him to defy her as well. "I know you can hold her, and most likely Jon will help us if we ask him to…"

"Jon will help you with what?" asked a familiar voice behind them, a tall, strongly built fellow coming up behind them. He was just a tad bit taller than Kristen, but not quite as tall as Chris, being fair well in between. Spiky brown hair covered his head, short because he'd just gotten it cut, and clear blue eyes that gleamed mischievously as he smiled at them. "Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

"Hey," replied Kristen, nodding in his direction. "We're here to kidnap this little guy's cousin."

"And who's that?" Jon looked at Cam, titling his head to the side. "You do look familiar, especially with those eyes…"

"Amanda," replied Cam pertly. He opened his mouth with the usual 12 year old innocence. "Chris said you know lots of ways to immobilize her quiet efficiently, but that he couldn't demonstrate how they're done. Can you teach me?" 

Jon went beat red as Kristen coughed to hide her fit of laughter, Chris just turning the boy around and leading him into the school.

"I think that's enough of that…"

"So, Jon," said Kristen, giving him a look. "You going to show him those methods?"

"Whoa there…" Jon laughed nervously. "I don't feel like visiting the stratosphere right now, thanks, which is where she'd send me if I dared."

"Alright, alright…"

"HEY GUYS!!" yelled another voice from beside the school, a figure beckoning them to the practice football field. "OVER HERE!!"

"Who is it?" asked Cam, covering his eyes from the sun.

"It's Matt," said Jon with a grin. "And it looks like Mike's with him. Come on, they'll probably know where the others are."

"Ok." 

They walked over to the practice football field, where Mike had a huge fire going full of textbooks. "E.L.P.!!" He yelled as he tossed the book into the flames, his fairly long hair flying about wildly as he continued his crazed dance. A long, hawkish nose and large, intelligent eyes, he was freakishly smart but too lazy to actually do anything with his brain. Tall and skinny, with his arms and legs akimbo, he looked more like a monkey right then than a human being.

"What's he doing?" asked Kristen as she drew even with Matt, Jon and Chris standing on either side of her as Cam stood directly in front. "Some sort of ancient dance?"

"Um, trying to lay a curse on the school by burning a book from each class," explained Matt carefully. He was about as tall as Jon was, with sort of long hair, so it fell to his ears, with a widow's peak in the front. Pale as the others, he had green eyes and a fairly strong body build from being an active fencer. "He found a set of keys to the school and had been searching through all the rooms for the past week…"

Kristen paused, and watched him dance. "Uh, impressive. Though I wouldn't be hanging around if I'd already graduated, like some loser!"

Jon quirked an eyebrow in her direction. "Hey…!"

"PRE-CAL, BE GONE!!" And in went another book.

"More like extremely weird," said Chris, shaking his head as he turned to walk away. "Anyway, we have to go find Amanda…"

"AND FOR THE CROWNING TOUCH!!" Mike held up a leather bound book, throwing it into the fire with a leap, before landing on his butt to watch it satisfyingly burn away.

It didn't go quiet as planned, though.

The whole group hit the deck as the pile of burning textbooks exploded, bits and pieces of burning math, science, english, and other courses raining around their heads. The leather bound volume landed neatly in front of Kristen, not a mark on it except for a bit of ash.

"Ok…" She picked up and sat down, reading the title to herself. "Hey!! I have these books, but it's supposed to be an eight part series not one book, and certainly not this nice…where did you find this, Mike?"

"In the band room!!" he called back

"How did you do that?!" demanded Matt as Mike came running over to look at the book as Kristen started to leaf through it. "The thing is practically untouched, it should be at least fairly scorched…"

"Oh no…" Jon, took a hold of it, trying to take it from Kristen's hands. "Let me have it!"

"What?! No! I want to see it!" cried Kristen indignantly as she tried to take it from his hands. "This has got to be the neatest copy I've ever seen."

"You don't understand, it's dangerous…"

"It's a book Jon!"

"Please, just let me have it, I have to show it Amanda or Brenna or something, they'll know what to do!"

"Ok, now you're not making sense, Jon." Matt put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Are you sure you didn't have just a leetle bit too much to drink this morning??"

"I don't drink and you know it!"

"Smoke? Inhale? Snort? Inject?"

"I don't do drugs either! Matt, listen to me!!"

"Hey, you kids there!" called a deep voice as someone took a hold of Mike, who was standing closest to the school. "What's going on, first the fire and then something exploded, and what's that you're looking at?"

"Nothing, Mr. Payne," said Jon quickly as Kristen shut the book automatically, the light flashing as they all disappeared…

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Uh oh…" said Devan as he looked at the group. "This won't do."

"What?" asked Grendal as she watched from beside him. "Oh, the old geezer? Simple, all you do is this…" She sent him back with a flick of her wrist, setting him with an altered memory back at his desk in the band room. The practice field was still burnt, but they'd leave the rest of the public to puzzle it out later on.

"Oh…thanks!" He paused for a moment, then added, "Why didn't we do that with the rest from the start?!"

"What fun would that be?!" Grendal grave her brother a look like he'd grown two heads or something.

"Oh, I get it…thanks again, then!"

"No problem! What about the rest, though? You gonna take care of them now?"

"Eh, leave 'em in limbo place for awhile. It's going to take awhile to find a place suited for them."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Mr. Payne looked at his desk, a dizzy feeling coming over himself for a moment. "Uh…"

"Are you alright?" asked  his new partner, giving him a worried look. "You look tired…"

"Um, it's nothing," replied Mr. Payne as he looked around his desk. "Now…hm…what was I doing?" He looked at the papers before him. "Man my age must be catching up to me faster than I thought…"

"Well, when you take one of your old students as your assistant director, you know you've had several years as a teacher…" The man laughed lightly, remembering Mr. Payne more as his high school director than as his partner.

"Hush you."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Libby bit her tongue as she looked at the goats in front of her, a few young kids and their mum who they'd been offered a wonderful price for that morning. 

"But she looks so cute there…do we have to get rid of her?" she said to Rupal who sat next to her on the fence. 

"We don't have to," replied Rupal with a shrug. "If you want to keep them, we can, I was just asking because of the price offered…"

"Though, the question is why this one," observed Libby as she looked over the rest of the herd. Two rams and six females, plus all the kid goats they hadn't sold thus far, it was quite a flock.

"Um, Libby, it's your only female goat that had triplets," Rupal reminded her slowly. "Remember? Then there were the two sets of twins and the rest just had one or none at all."

"Oh! That's right. Never mind, then, don't sell her. If she'll increase the flock by three each year, and her kids do the same, well…that's four this year…and if they each have three cuz they're all girls, that makes twelve kids plus the original four…that's 16…and if they're all girls and even if they all only had twins at best that's still 32 new kids, plus their mums… That's 48 goats from just four. No, we're keeping that one, I'll never get rid of her."

"Yeah, if she'd give triplets every year for sure I'd sell the rest right on the spot except for the rams," added Rupal lightly. "My goodness, within four generations we'd have over 50 goats. And it all started with one."

Libby nodded, then fell silent as she watched the sheep for a moment. Her eyes took on a vacant look, which wasn't that strange so Rupal left her alone for the moment. Sitting up suddenly, she looked around herself in surprise. "Um…Rupal?

"Yeah?"

"…why are we out here again? I must've lost myself there for a moment, because I really can't remember why…"

Rupal just gave her an odd look and walked back to the house. "The goats?"

Libby gave her a lost look, her eyes completely and totally blank."…what about 'em? They're fine, aren't they?"

"Oi…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

The moon rose and fell overhead, all three of them in a dreamless sleep as the hours passed. Amanda woke just after the moon has passed its zenith, something disturbing her light slumber as she sat up slowly. Reaching for the two daggers beside her in the pack, she brought them out slowly and waited.

Footsteps. To their front and right.

"Silven…" She woke the squirrel with a quick flick of her fingers against her tail, bringing her brother around as well by gently shaking his shoulder. "Ben…wake up…" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but seemed loud to her ears in the stillness of the night.

#Something wrong?# asked Lyssa when she saw the blades, not bothering to argue as Amanda placed her on Ben's shoulder.

"Don't know…but stay with him. Ben, stay behind me." He nodded silently.

#Right.#

Ben didn't say a word, remaining huddled in the straw after Amanda had given his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He stayed behind her as she poked her head forward, seeing a lone figure coming towards them from the front at an easy walk, dressed far richer than they'd ever been able to afford before.

"Hello there," said a musically whimsical voice that practically floated to their ears, one that seemed to put them entirely at ease. "Please, I mean you no harm, see?" He held up both his hands and pulled back his cape, which was of rich plum velvet, so show he was unarmed. His violet eyes seemed to take them in kindly, his golden hair cascading down his back. "My fire, is over there." He pointed to a glow Amanda hadn't noticed before back the way they came. "There's room for all, if you wish to join us, I figured you might be cold with no fire of your own."

Amanda started to stand, not seeing anyone else and was about to accept when she heard something crack behind her and turned to see a spear butt coming in fast aimed at her head. That's when it happened.

She threw one of the daggers out of sheer hope, making a lucky shot in the guy who was holding the weapon's throat before tearing the spear from his dying hands and using it to fend off the armed figures that surrounded them quickly. 

"Oh, how precious, the little kitty wants to play with a borrowed set of claws," mocked the original fellow, holding his hand to his mouth as he looked at them down his nose. "How pathetic. Get them, boys, they'll certainly fetch a price from he who asked for them.  Though I don't know why, the one's surely a slut who earns her money by selling herself and the other no better than a beggar. Go on, boys, get to it. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can get out of here, and the sooner I can go back to letting the ladies fawn over me again…ah…"

Two of the fellow circled around as Amanda stood there with the spear in one hand and the dagger in the other, keeping them back with feints and thrusts of the pole arm. Ben stayed put, forced to keep silent from the claws Lyssa had flung over his lips even though he wished dearly to defend his position as well as his big sisters.

One of the men came at her, leaving his face wide open as she threw the dagger in a desperate attempt to stop him before he even reached her. She missed this time, as the man dodged out of the way, but it was not entirely lost. The leader of the gang, who was standing and laughing with some others in the back wasn't paying attention as the dagger whizzed by, cutting his face across his left cheekbone.

"AH!!"

Amanda just smirked, having driven the charge back anyway and still stood her ground. "Would a slut or tramp have ever been able to do that?" she asked saucily, holding the weapon at ready with both hands. She didn't have her fighting magic back, but her instincts had always been fairly good and she knew she was their only hope of getting out this situation as it was. And she'd do it, too, if it was the last thing she ever did. The charge hadn't left her untouched, as the blade flicked under her guard and sliced open her side, blood running a red river down her leg. Ben cried out, but she pushed him back into the haystack, Silven faithfully staying beside him and growling at those who dared come to close.

"You…you cut my face…my beautiful face…" The man held a hand to his cheek, bringing it back to let the scarlet drops of blood fall to the ground. His expression suddenly changed, for horror to wild blood lust. "He did say if we only brought one back as long as there were others it was acceptable, and this one just sealed her own death…get them!"

Three others charged at once, leaving Amanda hard pressed to fend off their blows as attacks as they came in from three directions. She was decent, but between the three they found holes in her defense and with them put holes in her. One to the collarbone, another to her arm, her body screamed in pain as she forced herself to fight on. She'd forgotten how much it could hurt, and how much her powers and abilities had shielded her from before. Amanda wanted to curl up and die, to push this on to someone else's shoulders, but she'd promised Ben she'd always protect him, keep him safe, and never leave his side, and she'd keep that promise if it killed her. 

She was caught unawares as one of them grabbed the end of her spear and broke it's head away, the other rushing over her guard and smashing into her face with the hilt of his blade. She reeled back, dropping the weapon as two well-timed arrows from the archers waiting in the background hit her in the shoulder and below the knee. She didn't even register it as they grabbed both her arms and tied each one with a rope, holding them out tight so she was forced to knee before the blonde leader with her arms spread out wide.

Ben rushed forward as he grabbed up the spear, tears of rage pouring down his face as he tried to stab one of the guards holding his sister's arm by a rope. Another easily caught up from behind and tied his hands together as well, bringing him around the front so the two faced each other. Silven had jumped from his shoulder and leapt at the nearest man, biting into the first patch of flesh that wasn't one of her friend's with all her might and strength. Tearing and clawing away, she drew blood from several before one of them managed to hit her over the head with his fist and toss her to the side.

"Crazy animal…must've been possessed or something!"

"Aye, it nearly took me ear off!!"

"Part of it was gone already, wasn't it?"

"Aye, but I'd like the rest to stay, if y'know what I mean. I only got one lug on that side, might as well keep in the best shape I can."

"Quiet!!" demanded their vain leader, holding a silk cloth to his face as he watched Amanda fight and struggle from her bonds like an enraged animal, entirely intent upon forcing them to let her brother free. Her arm, chest, and side bleed freely, and she was barely able to even see straight from the loss of blood.

"Miserable creature," murmured the vain fellow as he went over to their packs, picking up her lute and bringing it around again. "Is this yours? Well, I suppose it is since you probably stole it from someone, so I won't feel bad doing this…" He hit Ben over the head with it, breaking the instrument in half as her brother was knocked out cold. Two of the men hauled him up and over one of the saddles like a piece of luggage, tying him there for the time being.

"GIVE HIM BACK!! GIVE HIM BACK TO ME, OR I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!! **_I'LL KILL YOU!!!_**"

Amanda's words were cut off as he took hold of her throat, holding her so she forced to look into his face only inches away. The sky opened up overhead and it began to rain, soaking everything instantly, but that didn't stop the nightmare from continuing it's course.

"Do you see what you did to me?" he asked quietly as he held up a dagger with his free hand, her dagger, and used it to trace a line along the slice. "I believe I shall return the favor." Before she realized what he was doing, he placed the tip at her hairline centered above the left eye and forced it down in a straight line to her jawbone, her head snapping back as it registered the new pain that flooded her senses. Blood filled her mouth from the whole in her cheek, and she couldn't see out of her left eye from the scarlet flow that covered it.

"I…don't care…" she choked as he let her go, hanging on the ropes as they forced her to stay up. "I'll…kill you…give me…my Ben…"

"In our world, the penalty for striking a noble is death," said the vain man, continuing as if he hadn't heard her at all. He pulled both arrows from her body, taking satisfaction as she writhed in agony as he slowly removed each one. "Hm, however, I shall do everything within my power to make sure your death is as slow and agonizing as possible…filthy wretch. I do feel sorry for you, in a 'because your not as rich or as beautiful as me' sort of way, but now that you've taken it upon yourself to ruin my wondrous face, I'm afraid it's gone and I shall now deal with you in the best way possible. Ren?" 

One of the guards handed him a whip, which he circled around her back slowly with before taking aim and lashing her as hard as he could with it. The rawhide was embedded with bits of glass and metal that tore at her clothes and ripped into her back, making her mind shut down entirely. She couldn't feel the ground underneath her knees turn to mud, nor the rain as it ran down her face and mingled with the blood. Pain was all she felt now, and pain was all she knew, her world had become nothing but the fires that burned across her body and made her wish she were dead. Screaming threats at first, then cries for help, and finally pleas for it to stop, her mind almost shut down entirely as the back of her shirt was reduced to shreds and the skin ribbons. 

"Drop her," said the man when he'd finished, grabbing the back of her neck to hold her up for a second and face where her brother still lay over the saddle near by. "Do you see him?" he whispered in her ear with glee. "He is now mine. Stupid, witless moron, you were too strong spirited for your own good. I like breaking such a spirit, but only when it has not been meddled with more. I don't take others castoffs. So now you must die, and for your own comfort, know it was I, Constantine, who sent you on you way to hell…"

He let her fall forward, face first into the mud.

"Come," he ordered as a fine stallion was brought out of hiding with the rest of the mounts and those who were left. "Throw the bodies in the haystacks, douse them with oil and burn them, now. Except for the girl, leave her there to die among the mud as she as fit too. Even being burned is too good for her. Take their horses and weapons with us. Ren, cut off all magical connections with the boy now if there are any, and cover our tracks for the next several miles. No one will ever know the true fate of this pair…hehe. Has the decoy been set and are the rest ready to go?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Let's move out, then, as much fun as this was I cannot catch a cold and disfigure my face even more than it is now." He galloped off into the night, unaware that his tortured victim still lay on the ground with blood pouring from her wounds.

"Ben…" murmured Amanda as she slowly succumbed to the growing darkness, her limbs refusing to move in the least and the pain blessedly diminished to nothing but a warmth in the background. "I'm sorry…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Devan…" said Gredal as she looked in one of the mirrors he was scrying with. "Devan…Devan wake up now!!"

"I'm up, I'm up…" he said, sitting up suddenly as he slowly opened his eyes and rubbed them on the back of his sleeve. Still in child form, he glared at her. "What's going on? It's the middle of the night, nothing happens then!"

Grendal motioned to one of the mirrors, two very still figures lying there in the mud with rain water and blood pooling around them slowly. "And that is nothing? Think again, lil bro…"

"Oh my gosh." Devan stared at the mirror for a moment. "I…holy cow. Go get Trystan!"

"What? I thought you said you could handle it," said Grendal, raising an eyebrow slowly. 

Devan was sending out spells as fast as he could. "Get her NOW!!"

"Alright, going."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Nicole slowly opened the cage of the shrike, having dubbed him 'Butch' because shrikes were often called butcher birds for the way they eat. Spearing their food on a twig or thorn first and then tearing it apart…well, let's just say after Nicole had gotten a descriptive narrative of what it's like from Trevor, she wasn't in the mood for lunch any more.

"Hey, Butchie boy…" she murmured gently, leaving the door open just enough so that she could slip out fast if she needed to but he shouldn't be able to escape. "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you…" She suddenly realized how stupid she was seeing as he was well over twice her size and stood straight up to point a finger at him accusingly. "Stop stealing my brain, Butch! Believe me, I need it a lot more than you do…" 

That wasn't the wisest thing to do, as he snapped at her waving arm and she screamed as he caught her shirtsleeve and lifted her off the ground quickly. Trying to find something to spear her on, the bird continually slammed her into the walls of the wire cage over and over again.

"HHHHEEEEEEEEEEELLLPP MMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Trevor watched in surprise as Butch tore from his cage and wheeled overhead, dangling one very angry Nicole from his hooked beak. Landing on the Trader's shoulder, the bird dropped the girl into Trevor's outstretched palm, crowing proudly as Trevor's shoulder's shook with contained laughter.

"Get down here!!" demanded Nicole as she dusted herself off and stood there waiting impatiently. Trevor brought her up even with his face instead, and just smiled as she pummeled him on the nose as hard as she could. He hardly felt a thing, but didn't say anything, as it was better than being shoved and dumped overboard into the cold ocean waters below.

"I'm sorry," he said apologetically as Butch just sat patiently on his shoulder, watching them with bored interest. "I didn't know he'd try to eat you…I'm really truly sorry." He moved Butch to his wrist, than held the shrike and the nymph girl even with each other. "Butch, this Nicole. DO NOT eat her. Do you understand? She is NOT food, alright?"

Butch seemed to look uncertain, shifting back and forth from foot to foot as Nicole prepared to run for it if he decided to snatch at her again. 

"It's like this, bird brains," said Jack as he suddenly popped up beside them. "You eat her, she'll poison you real bad. Maybe even kill you, got it?"

The bird nodded firmly, leaned down to look at Nicole, then turned away as if in disgust. 

"JACK!!"

*WHOOSH*

***SPLASH***

"Man overboard!!"

"You really should stop doing that," said Trevor as she took off with the winds to gloat at him over the side of the boat. He put Butch back in his cage, then placed the cage back in the hold. When he got back on deck, he added, "You must be nearly indestructible if you survived that sort a beating with only a few bruises, though…"

"Great, just more work for us who want to get rid of her," growled Jack from where he was toweling himself off at the edge of the boat.

"Jack!!" whined Gwen as she came into view. "I just mopped the deck!"

"Nicole's the one who threw me overboard!"

"Nicole!"

"He said I was poisonous!"

"Jack!!"

"Well…um…she as born!!"

Gwen just fell backwards on the deck, Trevor leaning over her to make sure she was ok.

"I have this urge to go over and gut them both, then string the entrails in the wind as some new form of sail decorations, but I have no idea why," she said in reply to his questions, looking over at him with a blank face.

Trevor helped her to her feet with a grimace as he listened to the pair get into it again. "I think I do to."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna sat across from the Master Mage at his work table, charts and diagrams spread out between the two of them. "This one you use if there's a ball of power coming at you and you can't dodge or get to cover because of speed or size," said the man, scratching his bald spot as he showed her a picture of one using their inner powers to shield at least the inside of their body up to the last few layers of skin on the outside.

"So, it'll keep me alive…" offered Bryanna, attempting to create such a shield within herself and finding she could even get most of the layers of her skin in it.

"And at best, it'll keep all but a bit of your skin and your hair out of harm's way," explained the mage slowly. "The skin that is left might be tender and red, but it'll keep you alive. At worst, you'll have barely any of your skin but still alive. It's a gamble, but at least you're assured your life in the end…"

"It's just the amount of damage that varies," finished Bryanna with a nod. "Um…what about this one right here?" She pointed to a diagram showing three people standing in a circle where one was supporting the structure and the other two were powering it.

"That's a group shield," replied the Mage quickly. "See, the healer completely molds around them the tightest shield possible, and the other two go and feed it. This only can happen if the mages are all healers, are all blood related, have created blood links between them, or have created magic links between them."

"You mean, like tie our power together?" asked Bryanna carefully.

"Yes, similar to that," agreed the mage with a nod. He turned his hand over, showing where the middle of it had been scored with a slash mark. "Me and my two partners were blood bonded when we were mage Mercenaries together. Rest their souls, they were killed in a battle 5 years ago and I've given up such a life since."

"Uh, right…" Bryanna gave the man a minute, then held up the diagram. "Me and my two fellow students will not be expected to do this, will we?"

"Of course," replied the man rather promptly. "All healers are set with two or more others on their journeymen courses, and it is required for you to learn this in case something happens in the future before you're allowed to move in status."

"In other words, I'm going to have to convince them to make some tie with me they'd both rather avoid due to my educational requirements," said Bryanna flatly, resting her head on the palm of her hand.

"Yeah…pretty much," admitted the Master Mage with a sigh. He stood up and pulled her from her seat before pushing her out the door and shutting it behind her firmly. "Good luck."

Bryanna looked behind herself at the closed door in surprise, and then annoyance.   
"Well, that was uncalled for."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kristen found herself sitting across from a young child, who fidgeted nervously as if he had something else on his mind. 

"Uh, can I help you?" she asked, leaning forward slightly as she studied him carefully.

"Yeah, I need to strike a deal with you," he replied quickly. "Um, I need to lay a spell on you so you can't interfere directly with characters in a book, nor would you have the wish to."

Kristen raised her brows slowly. "Are you crack? What the heck are you talking about?"

"I'll give you anything you want, too," he said quickly. "Anything at all."

"Um, I don't know since I have no idea what's going on," countered Kristen. "How about an explanation, here?"

"No time. Uh…how about this. I grant you unlimited hand to hand combat abilities and senses as long as you work at it, in exchange for what I mentioned and I get to meddle with your mind a bit so you don't remember this," said the boy, holding out a contract with a pen.

"Um..ok!" Kristen just assumed it a dream an went along with the ride.

"Sign here."

"Done."

"Nice doing business with you," said the boy with a grin as he disappeared from sight in an instant, leaving Kristen to fall through space…

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Jon found himself sitting on a bench in an uncrowded tavern, Matt sharing a bench with him and Chris and Mike sharing a bench to his right. Kristen and Cam sat directly across from them, a table in between all of them on which their drinks rested. 

"No," he said aloud, shaking his head. "For the love of God, no, not again…" He let his head fall with a thump, waking the others from their trance-like states.

"Where I am?" asked Kristen, holding her head as it slowly stopped spinning on her. She glanced down, and was in for a shock. "Oh my gosh…my clothes…" She sat up and looked at the others, her jaw hitting the floor. She was wearing a light green tunic with a darker one underneath, both made of linen, plus a set of dark green leggings and boots that came up to right under her knees that were decorated with a fringe. Her brown belt matched the boots, on which there hung a heavy pouch. She wore a single silver ring of twisted wire, and no other decorations. 

Cam sat beside her inspecting his new clothes with a happy sigh. Wherever it was they'd been taken, it was some place medieval and that was just fine with him. As long as they got back in time for Amanda's surprise it didn't matter to him in the least. He wore long loose forest green pants, a gray tunic of roughly knit material, and a light shirt with sleeves that came to his elbows under it. His thin leather belt matched the sandals that were on his feet, simple things that tied around his ankles. 

"Wow…" he whispered, then looked at the others.

Chris was wearing a leather jerkin, a dark orange shirt under it with the sleeves tucked into the soft leather gauntlets that he wore. Beside his arm was a rolled up leather skin, which was actually a half apron that held wood working tools and such. His heavy leather boots were the same dark brown as this jerkin and his belt, and a Trader staff leaned against the table next to him. His hair had grown longer and was in cornrows that ended right at the nape of his neck.

"I…whoa…something's not right here," he said, looking around at the others in surprise, especially at Jon who was the only one who seemed to have some idea of what was going on. "Since when does closing a book change your outfit and stick you in some medieval place?!"

Jon was wearing a loose blue shirt with a collar, the sleeves ending in simple button cuffs and the neck down to the middle of his chest held together with a string laced back and forth between the holes. His pants were black and loose like his shirt was, belted at the waist under the shirt with a sash. His boots were the same as Kristen's, except a darker brown, but just as soft and movable. 

Matt and Mike were nearly dressed the same, light violet shirt with sleeves that gathered at the wrist leaving plenty of room for other moments. Their black leather vests hung open the buttons of some wood polished bright and off set with brown stripes at the armholes and around the neck with pockets in the front. At their black belts hung rapiers, their pants the same black as the vest and their boots coming over their knees in the same black leather as the vests. 

"Beats me, though I feel strangely like calling for someone to bring me some ale and a wench," said Mike after he observed himself and his surroundings. The serving girl came by and refilled his mug, leaving after giving him a slow and suggestive wink. Mike about died. "I'm in heaven," he declared, starting to get up. Matt grabbed his shirt and dragged him down. 

"Oh, no you don't! Not until we figure this all out!" Matt stood and drew his rapier, a beautiful work of art with graceful curves of steel to protect his hand coming from the hilt and a bone handle that seemed to fit his grip like a glove. He kept on a hand on Mike's collar as he gave it a few experimental flicks. "Amazing blades they've given us, though…wherever it is that we are."

"Please, please she's asking me to come after her…" Matt gave him a look as Mike sighed. "Oh come on!!"

"Ok, Jon," said Matt after Mike had sat down again. "Spill. Now."

Jon sat up and looked at them idly. "You're in another realm, you're not going home for several years, deal with it," he said curtly, then laid his head down again. "Maybe I'll be lucky and I can sleep right through it…"

"Wait, what realm?"

"What you mean a few years?!"

"We can't just deal with it when we don't know what's going on…"

"Up you go," said Matt, hauling him upright by his collar. "No sleepy time now. What the hell are you talking about? I wanna know why I'm sitting here with wenches walking around, wearing a medieval swordsman outfit and carrying a rapier. Now." 

"Look," said Jon quietly, spreading his hands before himself helplessly. "The best I can do is explain what happened a few years ago to us. Well, Sarah, Amanda, Elizabeth, Brenna, some others, and me. You know the book? The leather one that you recognized the title on, Kristen? Yeah, well, it's got a spell on it and when you open and then close it you're sucked in…"

"Wait, wait, wait," said Kristen, holding up her hands with an unbelievable smile on her face. "You mean that I'm in Circle of Magic? The Circle of Magic by Tamora Pierce?!"

"Uh…" Jon scratched the back of his head and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. Last time it was Lady Knight in some Tortal realm or other, but the others had mentioned something about another series, so…"

"YES!!" She started doing a happy dance in her seat when she realized something. She'd been taken to Emelan somewhere, and that was great, but she wasn't with close friends, or even by herself.  She'd been sucked into Circle of Magic with FIVE other guys. "Oh…no…" She slammed her head on the table similar to how Jon had moments ago. "I get to go to the one place I've always wanted to visit, and what happens? I'm stuck with FIVE MORONIC MALES!!"

"Heh, could be worse," muttered Jon. "You could've been stuck with us plus a den of thieves."

"What are you talking about?" asked Matt. "A den of thieves, why would she be?"

"Uh, because Brenna, Bryanna, and Allie were last time," replied Jon with a shrug. "Yeah, Brenna became the Queen of Thieves and went by Vixen…"

"So that's where that nickname came from!" cried Matt as he slammed his hand on the table. "I always wondered why Amanda gave her a hard time about it…! What about the others, though?"

"Sarah and I were horse herders for the longest time," said Jon ticking them off his fingers. "Jenny was a cook, Alyse was some foreign lady with these flippy fans, Amanda and Elizabeth were nobles, Lyssa was a Commander in the Queen's something-or-others, Libby and Artman were super mages, and Kyle was some outrageously rich noble's adopted son…"

"You're lying," said Chris as he shook his head in disbelief. "No…there is no way this is possible! There has to be some mistake…back me up on this, Kristen!"

"I can't when I'm sitting here in a situation that would be one in the book for no reason at all," replied Kristen with a shrug. "And here's the question of the day, what do we do now and what's going to happen to us?"

"Um, we go around doing whatever it is the mage in charge here set up for us this time, eventually meet up with the others who've been brought here, and go home right back to the same time we left," replied Jon with a shrug. "We were there for, what, 6 years last time? Something like that…"

"So this is your second time turning 20?" asked Mike in disbelief. "That is so cool…and I'm going to get to live my youth twice!! YES!!"

Cam was so shocked he hadn't said anything at all until now. "You…you mean we won't be able to give Amanda her surprise?"

"No, you will," Jon quickly assured him, seeing tears about to well up in the youngster's eyes. "Just, it'll be in awhile, ok? I promise, you will eventually."

"…ok." He leaned on Kristen, who put her arm around him lightly since she figured someone had to take care of him now that he'd brought into all of this.

"Hello," said a woman who appeared across from them suddenly, sitting in the empty bench. "I'm Grendal, and for my idiot brother I'll be your replacement mage assistant for today…"

"Are you related to Trystan?" asked Jon, seeing some strong resemblance between the two.

"Older sister," replied the girl with a nod. "So, you're the vet this time?"

"In a way…I guess." Jon shrugged. "Ok, so what's it going to be this time? I'm guessing no horses, which I'm very glad of…"

"Yeah, you're luck wasn't too great with those," observed Grendal with a grin as Jon turned red from embarrassment. "Anywho, my moronic, idiotic little brother Devan is supposed to be the one helping y'all. He's a little busy with an emergency, though, because he screwed up big time and left me to do it instead…her face faltered for a moment, and then she went on and spread some documents on the table. "This is the deed to your new home, which is in the little lady's name." She ignored the glared Kristen gave her for calling her that. "This is the little lady's fighting degrees from three different schools. This is your vet's certification from another fighting school, Mr. Vet. This is you fencing fellow's certificates of learning and the ability to teach others. And this is your certification of woodwork, Trader. Here's a map of the city, the red dot is where you live and work, except for you Trader and that's at the blue dot. The lady knows everything you need to know about the book, and the vet knows everything there is to know about finding the rest. Have fun." She disappeared with a wink. "Bye." 

Mike's and Matt's eyes were whirling as Cam just clung tighter to Kristen's side.

"She was scary…"

"Man, I am so lost…"

"Yeah, I'm right here with you…"

"Let's go," said Jon, gathering up all the parchment and letting Chris herd the two fencers out the door as he left some coins on the table for the drinks and had Kristen and Cam walk with him to their new home. He picked up on several differences between this visit and his first one, and wondered what possible hidden surprises this might hold.

"This is going to be interesting."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Brenna and Kaitlin bent their backs over the massive vats, one of peaches and the other of carrots. Rupal sat beside them on a stool, reaching from an ancient book that let up a flurry of dust every time she turned the page. 

"Bring the sugar and fruit concoction up to steady boil, but DO NOT over boil…watch those flames, Kaitlin, you almost got your skirt in them again," said Rupal, glancing back and forth between the book and the two farm workers. 

"I know, thanks," came the tired reply as Kaitlin backed up a bit and hitched her skirt out of the way. She continued to stir the vat of slice peaches, even though her arms felt ready to fall off.

"And the carrots?" asked Brenna as the sweat poured down her face, wiping it out of her eyes on her already soaked sleeve as she continued to stir as well. She was in a little better condition than her counterpart, but not by much. While her arms didn't feel like they were ready to fall off, they were quickly turning something akin to lead.

"Keep them below a boil, so make sure that fire's not too hot," replied Rupal after flipping back a few pages. "A few minutes more and we should move it off the fire and begin to put them in the jars prepared for them." She looked at Brenna and cocked her head to the side. "Flip your hair back again, it's longer now that it's not curly and you're about to dip it in the vat."

"Eh…ok. Thanks."

"I just don't want really long hair in my carrots," replied Rupal with a grin. "That's the kind of hair you could choke on and it would kill you. Hey! It's no longer curly and it's still killer hair…"

"What can I say," panted Kaitlin with a tired grin. "She's a dangerous beast to be around…ow!!" Kaitlin rubbed her arm where it was whacked by a spoon that happened to have been on the counter last time she had checked.

"Careful," warned Rupal as Brenna stuck her tongue out at Kaitlin and swung the giant cauldron from the over the fire to closer to the counter. There, she carefully began to ladle the chopped vegetables into jar after glass jar before sealing the top with melted wax.

**three hours later**

"I never wanna see another peach as long as I live," murmured Kaitlin where she lay next to Brenna on the floor.

"We did it, though," replied Brenna quietly. "Every single peach and carrot we couldn't fit in the bins to be used soon were canned for later this winter…" They looked at the proud row of glass jars that lay on the counter. "And to think, we only have to do this for the peas, squash, and pears now…"

Kaitlin fell back as she started to get queasy. "No…!!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda slowly opened a single eye, the other covered some bandage of sorts. Her back hurt, she knew that much in a distant, foggy sort of way. Her vision was dazed and clouded, and the room seemed to move around her as she tried to focus on the face above her.

"Briteyes…can you hear me…"

She tried to say something and found she simply couldn't. 

#Amanda# came a familiar voice as a warm presence, once she knew from before, curled up at her throat. 

[_Lyssa…_] she realized in some remote part of her mind. [_And pain…doe this mean I'm not dead?] _

"Briteyes," came the voice again, this time choked with emotion. "We found you…and Scamp's body…I'm sorry, but he's dead."

Her foggy mind tried to grasp such a concept and counted. It was like a cloud, just out of reach. [_…dead? I saw them ride away…and he was alive…] She gave up and let herself drift into the mists again, it was too much for her right now, she'd deal with it later when things made sense again._

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Rosethorn sat beside her new charge, feeling rather bedraggled and tired as the squirrel they'd found at Briteye's sat worriedly on her shoulder. The creature had attached itself to her side immediately upon seeing them, and if she wasn't curled up and the invalid's side she was sitting on Rosethorn's shoulder or accepting food from her hand. 

Briteyes lay in Rosethorn's bed, half her face and half her body covered in the bandages that held some of the worst wounds Rosethorn had ever seen in her life. How that girl was still alive was beyond her entirely. By all rights, she should be dead many times over not just from the wounds themselves but from the fever and inflammations that had followed. The strangest part was how it all started, though…

Rosethorn and Frostpine had been in Summersea on some errand for the Duke, having been specifically asked for to deal with the problem. It was something any mage could've done that was of their magic, but they didn't question it and went anyway. Without any students around, it was nice to have a break from the usual, mundane schedule they held. The pair was supposed to have spent the night at the Citadel with the Duke, but both had been awakened by something just an hour after the moon had reached it's peak, a calling to return home that neither could ignore. 

They returned immediately, galloping on horses they borrowed from the stable and would return later on. Halfway there, the plants on the side of the road stopped Rosethorn. There they found Briteyes half dead, and in the hut nearby the abused body of a young boy whom they assumed was Scamp. The head was gone, and beside it was a brand new hat with a silver bell on each of its peaks. Frostpine had galloped back to the temple with all due speed, Rosethorn right beside him carrying the things they'd gathered from Briteyes half-buried bag. Or at least that which was left of it. Moonstream had met them at the gate and insisted she be taken to Discipline Cottage. While she wouldn't explain what was going on, Rosethorn did know it had something to do with the Honored Dedicate following a certain set of directions of sort. The Healer Dedicate worked Great Magics through the night on the poor girl to keep her alive, something that was only done for someone of true importance or when the gods demanded it. That had been a week ago, and things hadn't improved much since then.

A group had gone back and retrieved the body, and it was now buried on the temple grounds with a young oak over it. She'd seen to the planting personally, since there hadn't been any ceremony for his burial in the least. Now she and Lark traded off sleeping and watching her, whoever was awake at the time getting Moonstream at sunset and sunrise to come and poor her power into the girl's body. Otherwise the woman slept like a dead creature in the other extra room next door. 

Most interesting had been the hallucinations thus far. Though Briteyes couldn't move much, she was perfectly capable of speaking and some of things she'd said and that they'd found in her bag made Rosethorn curious to say the least. One was the silver chain with a pendant with a strange symbol on the back and signet ring on it that they'd found around her neck. The name, Lyxn Mountain, had come up multiple times in her visions, but no one had any idea where it was. 

One hallucination she'd thrashed about for thirty minutes demanding to be let to rescue someone she claimed as her sister, who was called Elizabeth. Another she was rounding on some fellows for fighting and destroying a storage room, and while Rosethorn couldn't tell what the other two were saying she got the impression Briteyes held some sort of power over them. Yet another, she was crying and promising something to someone she called 'Grandfather' on what Rosethorn assumed was his deathbed. So many people she mentioned, so many names, even a King and a Queen in there somewhere along the line as she refused to dress up for some ball and then underwent some torture for it. The plant mage didn't know what to think.

Silven climbed from Amanda's neck and jumped to Rosethorn's leg, tugging on the dedicate's shirtsleeve gently. 

"Hungry?" asked Rosethorn, too tired to care that she was talking to an animal as small as her fist. She glanced at her charge, who was sleeping fitfully for once. "I suppose I could use some tea myself…come along…" 

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Gwen pet Butch on the head, scratching the rather docile shrike and feeding him tidbits of meat so as to keep him occupied while Nicole attacked a leather harness around his body. It was only around the neck and under the wings, which would hold a small pad on which she'd ride and a hand strap with which she could direct his movements.

Tyler and Trevor had helped her make it the night before, directing her movements while she braided and tacked the thin bits of leather together herself with the small nails and hammer they provided.

"Ready?" asked Gwen, preparing to remove herself from the shrike in a fast manner.

"Ready," replied Nicole, setting herself in the air above the bird. "And…now!" She let herself fall into the saddle, Gwen ducking out of the way as Butch took off to the skies to try and rid himself of his burden.

"AHHHHHHH!!!"

"Don't die, Nicole!!" yelled Gwen as she watched from the deck as the bird did gyrations in the air that Gwen didn't even think were physically possible. "If you do, Jenny'll kill me!!"

"THANKS FOR YOU CONCERN!!!" screamed Nicole sarcastically as she held on for dear life. "PLEASE, OH PLEASE, OH PLEASE WILL YOU SSSTOOOOOP!!!"

Butch, as if he'd heard her, braked with his wings so hard that she flew from the perch, so incredibly surprised that she was no longer sitting on something that she forgot to ask her winds to catch her and fell into the sea below.

"NICOLE!!" Gwen stood over the edge of the railing as Trevor came up to see what the trouble was, Butch landing on his arm the moment he did.

"Blech!!" Nicole bobbed up and down in the water, spitting the salt water out of her mouth like whales spout water as she wiped her eyes clean. "I hate the taste of sea water…AHH!!" She shot out of the water and scrambled up the side of the boat, aided by the winds, as she dodged the fish that suddenly flashed out of the water to try and turn her into an evening meal. "NOOOO!!!"

"Gotcha!!" Gwen caught her as she flew up higher than the rail, holding her in her hands so she wouldn't fall back into the waters below. "You was almost fish bait there, my soaked little nymph."

"Are you ok?" asked Trevor, putting Butch back in his cage. "My goodness, be more careful next time!"

"Dun…like…water…" chattered Nicole as she began to shiver, huddling down in the hollow of Gwen's hands for warmth. 

"Aww…you poor little thing. Let's go get you cleaned up." Gwen walked down into the hold as she acted like she'd found a new pet to play with rather than saved a friend who was six inches tall. 

"I should've named that thing Devilspawn, not Butch," growled Nicole, too tired to care as they disappeared from sight. "Stupid bird."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Randy sat by himself in the tent that he slept in, the rope curled neatly before him on the ground. "Ok…" He held his hands before himself and went through the sequence again, calling the light to the rope but keep a barrier between the heat and the rope itself. Opening an eye to survey his handy work, he about jumped for joy. To all appearances, the rope burned as brightly as it would as if it were actually on fire but it never moved past the spot he had set it on. And taking it in his hands, he found it to be perfectly cool and able to be handled even though it continued to 'burn.'

"I…am a GENIUS!!" yelled Randy, getting up and doing a dance as he waved the rope around his head. Gaining confidence, he pointed to the quill that lay on his desk and cried, "BURN!!" The feather pen burst into the illusionary flame, and didn't scorch him in the least as he picked it up with a smile.

"YES!!" He then turned to his bed, holding up both hands as he yelled at the top of his lungs. "BURN!!" The whole thing burst into flames. But he had one itsy-bitsy problem…he forgot to put the barrier up between the flames and the bedding itself. It took a moment before his drunkenly happy mind registered the fact that the fire had spread along the wall and roof of the tent and all that was left of his mat was a charred heap of fabric. 

"AHHHH!!!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Matt watched as the rest came and went with their usual morning schedule, Kristen still asleep, as her first class didn't start until noon, before he went off to his wood working shop. The building was on the corner where two streets met, a high wall around the whole thing that marked the boundaries of their estate. The place where four of them worked was on the corner itself, the house where they lived connected to the left of it with other houses all around. 

The warehouse had been divided into two rooms, one with a two story ceiling and the other a one. The partition between the two had a gigantic fireplace in it to warm the place during the winter; skylights lined the roof with thick glass in both rooms for light. The floors of polished wood paneling and the walls lined with weapons racks that they apparently owned, it looked like the multi-dojo it was supposed to be. There was even a cleared space outside covered in sand that could be used as a practice ring. Swords, pole arms, axes, any type of weapon you could think of they probably had one of and someone who could use it.

A door went from the court, as it was called, to house, which shared a wall with the warehouse. It led straight into the main hall, which also connected to the front door of the place. If you turned right you'd head straight back outside again. If you went straight you'd find the kitchen. 

The kitchen was big enough for all of them to be in without feeling like you wanted to kick someone out just for the sake of having more room. The fireplace, which also served as a stove and oven, was in the middle of the house and warmed all the room, when it was cold. There a huge, round table with seven or eight chairs and beyond the fireplace a pump with a sink and drain with plenty of counters to set things on when making meals and plenty of cabinets to store things in as well.

Their only bathroom in the whole place (which they were lucky to have an indoor one) was set in a corner of the kitchen. The pantry was beside it, and there was almost something already made to eat in there if anyone ever got hungry. 

Back to when you walked in from the dojo-place, if you turned let you'd go down the hall and hit Mike and Matt's rooms. They hadn't had a choice in the matter of where they lived, and it had just turned out this way that their stuff was already set up for them with a room that was perfect for each one. Mike's room even had a door that led to the alley behind the house that couldn't be opened from the outside unless you had the keys and knew which side of the door frame to push on when you entered. 

The stairs went up beside the chimney between Mike and Matt's room's walls, branching off into four other rooms up there. The second floor didn't cover the entire first one, so they weren't as big as they could've been, but it was all worked out in the end. On right side of the hallway as you came were Kristen and Cam's rooms, Kristen's windows opening up right onto the roof of the warehouse and Cam's on the house next door. Chris and Jon were straight across from them, Jon's directly across from Kristen's and Chris's directly across from Cam's.

It was interesting, the way they were living now. He got to fence as much as he wanted to, and taught others to fence as well. So far he had two classes, one on Monday's and one on Thursday's for two hours after lunch. He pitied Kristen, though. They happened to live on the same street as every other family who had worked as the Duke's guards for generations on end, and she was now teaching all their young darlings as well as some of the rich merchant's sons hand to hand combat. At least everyone in his classes were at least 13 or older, she had some as young as 8 or 9 coming for lessons. 

Jon taught an advanced class which also specialized in random weapons like the staff and dagger work. How he knew to fight with such things, Matt didn't bother questioning after Jon had told them a little bit more about their last stay and how people had picked up on skills they'd never had before in their life and performed them like they had done it since they were born. 

Chris worked not far from them in a little shop on the craftsman street, apparently one of the highest wood workers in demand by the number of orders he got per day. Leaving early and coming home for dinner only, he worked the hardest of all as it was right now, though Matt had a feeling this lull in their business wouldn't last long.

Mike didn't teach yet, but soon he'd get his classes too. Cam didn't either, only being 12 or so, but Kristen let him help with her classes and he was coming along faster than any of the other students. He'd probably be as good as Kristen in a few years in just one of her school's of unarmed combat if he'd just stop worrying about hurting the other person and just get into it.

"Hey! Don't you have an interview or something?" asked Jon as he came in the door, polishing rags in hand as he'd just finished cleaning up the weapons again.

"That's right!" Matt shot up and bolted out the door, wiping his mouth on his shirtsleeve as he fled from the house and down the street. 

"He's silly like that sometimes," observed Cam, munching on his toast before yawning tiredly. "Am I waking up Kristen again, or do you want to."

"You do it," said Jon quickly as he rubbed the red spot he still had on his face. "It's rather not get a broken nose like she threatened last time.

Cam chuckled. "Hehe, I know."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kaitlin and Brenna sat at the table practically asleep as Cheeks came in, whistling in appreciation at the sight before him. Every counter, shelf, or surface in general other than a strip of floor so people could get through was covered in canned fruits and vegetables. "Wow…very impressive girls."

"Thanks," murmured Kaitlin, already drooling as she began to dream. "No…dun want no carrots…please…no more…no peaches…no pares…just want…sleep…please??"

"Poor girl," murmured Brenna, starting to rise when Cheeks waved her to sit back down and picked the resident cook up himself. "Ah, thanks, I wasn't sure I could get her there anyways…"

"I could tell," said Cheeks. "I'll be right back." He walked out of the room, leaving Kaitlin on her bed drooling with her blanket partially covering her before sitting in the chair he'd removed her from moments before. Brenna was casting about herself, her hand on her wrist.

"You lose something?" he asked, looking around himself as well.

"Yeah, this bracelet I got from Libby during the festival thing," replied Brenna worriedly. "I'm not sure if I took it off or left it upstairs…"

"It fell in a vat while you were cooking!" called Libby over her shoulder as she came in the door and went right up the stairs.

"WHAT?!" Brenna was in a heartbeat, and holding Libby by the back of her shirt with a frown. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I did," replied Libby with a shrug. 

"Did not!"

"Or at least I tried to," added Libby as she turned around and put her hand on her chin. "Hm…oh yes! I tried to tell you and you told me to shoo, so I tried to tell you again and you turned and waved the spoon at me and told me to get lost, so I tried to tell you again as you were ladling the stuff into the jar, and you came over and shoved me out the door and said if I came in again before you were done I'd be sleeping with the cows tonight instead of in my room, so I figured one bracelet wasn't worth it and left." She smiled, turned and heading back up the stairs as Brenna sat down hard and held her head in her hands. "Later!"

"No…!!"

"You have to admit, though," observed Cheeks as he slowly started to inch towards the door. "It was your fault…"

"But…!" When Brenna looked up the kitchen was empty, except for the many jars of canned fruits and vegetables that glimmered at her in the dimming light mockingly. "AAAHHHH!!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Ben sat huddled in front of the Mercenary who was riding with him, his hands bound before him tightly and a gag over his mouth so he couldn't call for help. Not that he could have if he'd wanted to, he was so scared and still in shock from all that had happened. He'd woken as they'd stripped him of his clothes and put others on him, which he recognized as belonging to the boy who he used to play with, and then watched in horror as they pulled him out of the wagon away from the rest of his family and slew him in the hut after beating him soundly. 

His body, wearing Ben's clothes, was left in the hut where it lay. The head was taken from it, though, and cast in the flames with the bodies of the others who died, the resident mage sprinkling something in it that dissolved the bodies completely before they turned the horses around and headed back east. By day, the guards played as an escort to their 'Master', the vain blonde, and by night they simply galloped to their next point where they stopped for a few hours and then changed horses. Each place they stopped had a black bird painted above the door, a tavern of sorts that was filled with others like them, dirty men dressed in armor and wearing weapons who worked for someone for awhile as whatever just for the sake of getting paid. 

Where they were headed, Ben couldn't say. Why he and his sister had been taken, he didn't know. Why the little boy had to die in his place wearing his things, he wasn't sure but he was sorry it had to happen at all. The wagon with the others had taken a different route, and he hadn't even been allowed to see them to tell them what had happened to their son before they had left. 

Ben was tired, cold, hungry, and scared. His sister was gone, his friend killed, and these men now holding him as his prisoner. What was a little boy to do?

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Jenny watched Nicole as she sat across from the shrike, having a staring contest with it in a battle of wills. 

"I WILL win," growled Nicole as her eyes began to water from being open so long. "I will master this stupid bird…" *blink* "ARRGGGH!!!"

Butch just stared at her and blinked a few moments later. 

"That's it!" cried Nicole. "I'm doing it again!!" She gave her eyes a few moments and then opened them wide, leaning in as she and the bird locked gazes even more fiercely than before. 

"Come on, you stupid thing, blink already…"

Butch just stared at her with his usual unblinking gaze.

"I said blink!"

He didn't.

"BLINK ALREADY!!!"

If he understood what she was saying, he refused to, and merely looked on her with pity at the sad creature that she really was. 

"**_BLINK!!!!_**"

Butch just fluffed his feathers and continued to stare.

Nicole's eyes began to be bloodshot, veins popping into view as she clenched her hands in determination. **"I….WILL…NOT…" She blinked. **_"NOOOO!!!"_****

"Are you sure she's sane?" asked Tyler from where he peaked around Jenny, jumping back as Nicole screamed and shook her fist at the bird even though she was half his size and the boy was far bigger than her than that.

"At one time I was," replied Jenny with a shrug. "Now I'm really now…let's go get something to eat and leave her to Butch, ok?"

"Ok!"

They left the nymph there, ranting on and on as Butch just stared at her in boredom. "BLINK!! I WILL MASTER YOU, YOU STUPID BEAST!! BLLIIINNNK!!!!"

He did.

"I HAVE WON!! I HAVE WON!! I HAVE WON!! MUAHAHAAHAH!!"

Jack looked at her for a moment, then walked away. "Man, and I though animals were dumb…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna stared at the ruins of the tent for a moment, then looked at Randy who had part of his hair burned away and patches of burns all over his skin. "You hopeless idiot."

He paused, then asked slowly, "Does that mean you'll help me?"

She gave him a glare. "No."

"What?! But…I need you to heal me!!" 

"No, you did it yourself you go clean yourself up for once," she replied roughly, turning away.

"Hey, help him already!" cried Olivia, who stood on Randy's other side as she'd already used her abilities to freeze the fire completely and save a few of his things. "He's an idiot, yes, and very hopeless, but at least make sure he's alright!"

"He's burned himself, what, two? Three times now?!" cried Bryanna with her hands out before herself. "I'm not going to keep wasting my powers on someone like that! You've only had to put out one fire, I've had to heal multiple fire BURNS!! If the moron can't keep himself in one piece together on his own, he doesn't deserve any one's help."

"He is our friend, you know," retorted Olivia coldly. "And our only other friend from earth, if you have forgotten. Front what you said, you need everyone there to get back."

"He's alive and breathing," Bryanna pointed out. "Therefore, he's fine. He can take care of himself for once. And why do you care, anyway?!"

"I don't care!" retorted Olivia quickly. "I just think we should help him for our own sakes."

"Like how so?!"

"If we don't we have to listen to him moan and complain about his injuries, because he won't know how to deaden the pain."

"So." Bryanna shrugged. "We gag him."

"And we'll have to take over the chores that he won't be able to do because he's hurt." Olivia tilted her head slightly to the side, thinking she'd stumped the other young woman.

"No, he can still do them because it's his arms and back that got burned this time," replied Bryanna quickly. "Not his hands. And besides, none of them were bad enough to cause any actual muscular damage."

"Well…what about your credits," replied Olivia carefully. "If he says you won't heal him because of personal grudges, they may do something for not using your gift properly."

"They won't," replied Bryanna with a snort. "And he won't dare tell, either, because just as I can heal him I could kill him too just by short circuiting his heart with a touch of my power."

"Please?" begged Randy, falling on his knees in the sand as he grabbed onto her legs. "Pleasepleaseplease?? I am so so so sorry, I really am, just please at least give me the pain killers…??"

"I contacted Lightbridge," said the Master Mage as he came back beside them from his tent, a frown on his face. "They said they would send extra uniforms, as well as replacements for the schoolbooks you lost to your next teacher." He suddenly noticed Randy was on his knees at Bryanna's feet, a pained expression on his face. "Oh, heal the poor sucker already, he looks pitiful like that."

"I know," replied Bryanna, brushing her hair from her eyes. Sighing, she touched his forehead lightly and put him out cold with a touch of her magic. "Someone carry him to another bed, I'll go get my bag…the idiot."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Chris patiently carved the graceful curve on the back of the chair, stepping back from time to time to check his work before going at it again. His tools were simple, and often more archaic that he liked, but having a hand drill instead of an electric one wasn't so bad once you got used to it. Besides, it couldn't die on you and leave you without one, at least. And with how heavy and sturdy his tools were, Chris doubted they'd ever break while he was using them.

He finished out the arch and got some sharkskin that was used as sandpaper around there, using that and the shavings to give it a nice satin finish. It was a good thing the sea was close by and the stuff was easy to find, or he'd have some trouble finding a good enough replacement. 

The sun rose and fell overhead as he continued to work, the few sticks of stout wood that he'd started with being reshaped into the beautiful chair that now stood before him. Its legs were steady and strong, but with a nice slant to them, it's arms scrolled as asked for and with little grooves running along the side for looks. It's back was a garden of loops and curls, created just as asked with a space left blank where the cushion would be placed.

"Excuse me," said the tanner, coming in with his order of goods. "This be the right size of leather, you asked for?" He held up a thick piece dyed green and soft as doe's skin when Chris took it from him.

"Well, let's see…" He held it up and tacked two corners down, checking it all around as the man stood there and watched. "It does very well, thank you."

"And thank you." He took his coins Chris pointed out to him on the table and left, leaving him with more work than he had before. Taking off the leather, Chris began to mix the finish he would use on the wood to give it a nice, warm, natural glow. Putting the first coat on carefully, he left it in the middle of the small shop for the night to dry before dusting himself off and walking on home.

"They wondered where you'd gotten to," said Cam as he met him at the front, a smile on his face as usual.

"I'm right here," replied Chris as he mussed the boy's hair affectionately. 

"Yeah, yeah, let's go. Jon's cooking tonight, and he said he'd make the chicken again," said Cam as he pulled Chris with him through the streets to their home. 

"I thought you said guys can't cook?"

"I was wrong, MOST guys can't cook," admitted Cam. "But in this case, I'm glad I am, because if I have to endure one more night of Matt's failed attempts at pizza or Mike's burned steaks, I think I'm going to die."

Chris just laughed.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Libby sat there stubbornly, a frown on her face as she refused to eat the meat that Kaitlin had put before her on the table. "I won't."

"Libby," said Kaitlin carefully, as if talking to a small child. "It's sheep. Mutton. I thought you liked it last time I made it."

"I did," replied the young woman slowly, tears forming in her eyes. "But…but…" *sniff*

Rupal looked at her strangely and kept eating her meal, knowing it was safe since Cheeks had already finished his portion and wasn't violently ill or rushing for the outhouse as fast as he could run.

"Libby, it's good, just eat it," said Brenna in exasperation.

"But… *sniff**sniff* It was old Tom…" She broke out into tears, crying as she mumbled something over and over about old Tom.

"What's she talking about?" asked Brenna as she leaned over slightly.

"Old Tom is the ram we gave to the Butcher in exchange for slaughtering the other three ewes for us, well, half of him anyway. The other half in is our larder, and part of it in our bellies…"

"Oh…I get it."

"Libby, it's a sheep!!" cried Kaitlin in frustration. "An animal that's not even bright enough to be considered a pet! Come on, it's not like we killed one of the bunnies and turned it into a stew…"

Libby looked up, having only caught the tail end of the comment. "You WHAT?!! I ate one of my BUNNIES?! NOOOO!!" She got up and fled upstairs, everyone just watching her in amazement. 

"Well," said Cheeks as he took hers and pushed the meat onto his plate. "Guess she won't be needing this now." He dug into it, not noticing everyone else just staring at him a moment later. "What? Was it something I said?"

"No Cheeks," replied Brenna as she went on eating hers. "Nothing at all."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Lyssa sat on Amanda's chest with her paws on her face, desperately trying to reach her as the two dedicates came rushing in the door. #AMANDA!!# she screamed, trying to be heard over her cries of pain and anger. #AMANDA!! WAKE UP!! COME ON, WAKE UP!!#

"Get her hands!!" yelled Rosethorn as she latched on to the girl's feet, doing her best not to hurt her in the process.

"GIVE HIM BACK!!" screamed Amanda as she blindly tried to lash out at the dreams that haunted her. "I'LL KILL YOU!! GIVE HIM BACK!!"

"Hold her steady," ordered Moonstream as she ducked in, laying a hand on either side of Amanda's face as she tried to wake her from the fevered nightmare. "Easy…easy does it…" The performer gradually relaxed, her breathing slowing from angry gasps to even breathes as her screams became nothing more than soft murmurs again. Slowly, her right eye opened, the other still covered in the bandage with the rest of her face as the dedicates let go of her gingerly.

"Briteyes," said Moonstream, taking a seat by the bed as Lark and Rosethorn came around to stand behind her. The young woman looked at only the squirrel who loomed in her view, chattering away softly.

#You're awake, and you're alive# she said, knowing by the look in Amanda's eye that she heard what she was saying, and slowly grasping it. #I can't believe you're alright, I was sure you were going to die…#

"Shh…" Amanda reached up with her right hand and laid it on the furry little creature, holding her close in reassurance as she slowly pieced everything together. "It's ok, it's ok…" She looked to the other three standing there beside the bed in surprise. "Lark? Rosethorn?? Honored Moonstream?! How did you…?"

"Relax," said Moonstream, waving her hand for her to be silent as she continued. "You're alright, though it'll take awhile your body will mend and be as good as it was before. Or as close as we can get it, anyway." She emitted an aura of peace around her, and Amanda felt herself calming despite her fears. "Rosethorn and Frostpine found you in the field and brought you here, and we have cared for you since then. That was over a week ago. You can explain what happened later, right now we have something to tell you."

While she processed these words, Lark left the room and returned with something a moment later, sitting on the bed beside her as she laid it by Amanda's hand. "We found Scamp's body, Briteyes," she whispered as she watched the woman run her finger's along it's edge in recognition. "He's dead, I'm sorry."

"No." Amanda looked at them definitely. "I…I saw them leaving, and he was…no, he can't be, I…no, no he's not…he can't be…I saw him!" Her words grew more fevered as Lark simply put her arms around her and held her close. "No…he's not dead…I won't let him be!! He has to be alive!!" She screamed the last part and broke down sobbing, letting herself be gathered up in Lark's arms as she lost it completely and continued to deny out loud that which she feared inside was true. Silven curled up at her throat, and those Rosethorn had never seen such a thing before, and questioned it later on when she thought about it, the squirrel cried too.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Nicole laughed and did loops around Jack's head, easily evading his slow and clumsy swings. "Haha!! Can't get me, slow poke!!"

"I am gonna tear you appart and feed you to the fish when I get you!!" he yelled angrily, making another grab and barely missing her at all. 

"Op, almost, Jack! Might wanna try a little harder next time…"

"ARRRGH!!"

"Teehee!!"

"A copper says he catches her," murmured Tanner to Tyler.

"Two says she'll make him do something stupid," replied the younger brother with a grin.

"You're on!!"

They watched for several more minutes, the rest of the crew ignoring them when Nicole stopped right in front of Jack's face for a fraction of a second.

"BOO!!"

*SMACK*

"Ouch…" Jack fell back with his hand still on his forehead, the sound of him smacking himself reverberating off the boat. *THUD*

"Pay up," said Tyler, holding out his hand.

"Little brat," muttered Tanner as he fished out the coins and put them in the outstretched palm.

"Nicole," said Jenny as she tried to scold her, but had to stop every time she started from laughing so hard. "You really…haha…No, seriously...hehehee…I mean, that is…aahhhahaha!!!"

"I think you killed the Captain of laughter," observed Gwen as Jenny sat down hard still laughing, the rest of the crew joining in as well. "And the First Mate with his own fist."

"All in a days work of being a Nymph," preened Nicole as she strutted up and down the rail of the deck.

"Does that ways work include losing staring contests with a bird?"

"…shaddup."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna checked Randy's burns again, taking the bandages off of most of them except for a few and proclaiming him fit to travel again.

"Now," she said as she finished salving and tying up the last of the burns that needed to be covered. "Be good, and don't do this again, and I'll finish this without any scars. Burn yourself again, and you will scar worse with that which you gain that if you had half your body mass burned off. Understand?" she said, slowly, pulling on the last bandage for effect and watching as he winced. 

"…ok."

"Say, 'Yes, ma'am.'"

"Yes ma'am."

"What do you know, maybe he is trainable after all," said Olivia from the doorway. "Come on, our Master Mage has offered us horses instead of camels, and if we leave now we can go with this caravan that's heading through and not have to cook for ourselves or camp out alone until we reach civilization again."

Randy adopted his pitiful look. "Will someone please pack my…"

"No."

"But I'm…"

"No."

"What if…"

"No."

"But she…."

"No."

Randy sighed and got up, walking after the two as they went their separate ways to get his things together. Life was definitely not fair.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Cam woke up with the sunrise as usual, stretching slowly before hopping out of bed and pouring some water into his basin. It was nice to wake up without your baby brother crawling all over you, or your big brother dumping you out of bed just for the joy of watching you fall. That's why he woke up so early, back home, and while he did miss his parents he had always liked being alone enough and living here with these people didn't really bother him that much at all.

Cam changed his clothes and ran a hand through his hair, opening the door while facing his window one last time when he turned around to the hallway to see several gigantic spiders falling down towards him. 

"AAAHHHH!! KRISTEN!!" He ran straight into them, getting tangled up into their threads as he tried to wrestle his way out and just got more and more tangled up instead. Mike and Matt, who had rigged it up, lay laughing on the floor as they watched him slowly fight his way free.

"Hahahehe…oh that great!"

"It was, it was…the look on his face was priceless!!"

"I know!"

They suddenly realized he wasn't tangled anymore and running towards Kristen's room, still scared out of his mind. "KRISTEN!! HELP!!!"

"Oh crap!" 

"Grab the kid!!"

Cam opened the door and ran straight in, jumping behind Kristen's slowly waking form as her bloodshot eyes focused on the two males who stumbled in and quickly started to back out as they saw her eyes latch on them.

"What's going on?" she asked in a dangerously quiet voice, Cam still huddled at her back. "Come on, get off the bed, Cam. There had better be a good explanation for this…"

"TheyriggedmydoorandspidersfellandIgotalltangledandwasreallyreallyscared," Can paused for a breath. "SoIranherecuzIwasafraidtheyweregonnascaremeagain."

Kristen looked at the pair, murder forming in her eyes. "You scared him, and woke me up and this indecent hour in the morning. Prepare to die."

"AHHH!!" Mike and Matt ran out into the hallway, only to be met with a very angry Chris and Jon who had been awakened as well. Kristen came up behind them and all three eye's met, one thought on their mind. 

"GET THEM!!!"

"AHHHHHHHH!!"

*crash* *boom*

"AHH!!!"

*smack**crack*

"It was an accident!!"

"Don't you ever wake me up this early again!!"

"WE'RE SORRY!!!"

Cam just smiled as he watched the pair get chased all over the house by the murderous trio. "Hehe, that's what I call pay back."

"AAAAHHHH!!!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

And that's that. A very long chapter, I know. Tops out at 32 pages. Don't expect one like this all the time, it won't happen. As far as future updates, I'm gone for three weeks so I'm going to try to update from my various trip places, but it will be sporadically and possibly nonexistent. Sorry. 

Please review, you did get a double dose after all. And it's not like it was two wimpy chapters either, these puppies took me FOREVER to finish!

"If there's one thing I can't stand in life, it's a violent person and if anyone tells me different, I'll smack 'em!!"

~Crosseyedbutterfly~


	9. 

This is the second time I've had to write this chapter, so if I get any really long complaints about the length of time it takes between updates, I will merely demand in return that you replace my piece of crap computer, ok?

Just read and review, it would most definitely make my day.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

_Briteyes, who refused to respond to any other name now, found herself sitting on a cushion in room. Though she was sure she'd never seen it before, it had some familiar bits to it. Workshop-type benches where scattered everywhere except in the one small corner where she sat, a huge fireplace to one side with two other figures beside it. Some how, though she was unarmed and had no idea how she got there, she wasn't afraid and merely waited calmly to see what would happen next._

_"Hello," said the taller of the two as they both drifted towards her and sat side by side on cushions as well. "Do you remember me?"_

_The performer looked her over, her eyes the only part of her body that showed any movement though her mind was racing a million miles a moment. "...I...oh! Trystan!" She sat up straighter, confusion flashing across her face. "But...that means we're in Tortal, and how did I get there?? Or is Tortall connected to Summer Sea, I thought they were two completely different realms..."_

_"I will explain everything," cut in the woman mage, silencing the young woman across from her with a wave. "You're still in Summer Sea. This young one beside me is Devan, my brother. HE is the mage in charge here, we are at his workshop as we speak." She motioned to the small boy beside her, who looked like he'd rather fade into the woodwork rather than speak to her right then._

_"Oh..." Briteyes frowned, then bit her lip, trying to reason out just exactly what had happened. "I just have one question: why am I here? I can't really remember..."_

_Trystan shot the younger boy a glare and he sighed, her thoughts becoming clear almost immediately. Zeroing in on the boy who was supposed to protect her brother with a deadly glare of her own, the performer leaned forward, her hands reaching out like she wanted to strangle him. "You...!"_

_"EEP! I CAN EXPLAIN!!!" The boy hid behind his sister, who sighed and broke them up, silencing both with an equally deadly glare and lightly bolts that rippled from her hands to enforce it. "_

_"Tell her, Devan," she ordered firmly._

_"I...fell asleep," he explained softly. "I am sorry about all this, really!!"_

_"Why am I still alive?" asked Briteyes crisply. "I know by all rights I should be dead."_

_"Because you've been in three different realms," explained Devan simply. "There's a ton of metaphysics and spirit/magic stuff that comes into play, but to put it simply once your spirit, or soul, has traveled to two other realms besides your own, you become immortal within those realms. Now, the body you do inhabit there can be destroyed, so you're not some god who can run around being killed constantly and come back pain-free. Every time you do it takes a little longer to come back, but you will eventually. Your body will force itself to heal, and if it's lost too much like yours did it will phase itself in with one of its other bodies so it will be whole again. I did that with your Tortall body, so all those scars you left behind are probably going to pop back up again..."_

_"I see." The musician cracked her knuckles. "I need to know, though. Have the Dedicates lied to me? Is Ben truly dead?"_

_Devan paused, exchanging looks with his sister before replying, "The Dedicates have not lied to you."_

_"..." She bent her head and left a few tears fall down her cheeks, Devan gathering his courage for what he had to say next. _

_"I do need something from you," he said suddenly. "A boon, if you will."_

_"What?" she asked, her head still slightly bent. _

_"You cannot use what you know to verbally influence the plot of the realms," he stated firmly. "I'm going to put a spell on you, one that will inhibit you from in any way, shape, or for communicating to others what will happen next. You can physically be present, and with your ACTIONS do anything you can to change the course of history, but that's it..."_

_She considered his words, then lifting her head slowly, smirked. "You can't."_

_He huffed back indignantly. "What?! What do you mean I can't?!"_

_"Not without my permission, that is. Isn't that right, Trystan?" The woman mage confirmed it with a nod, Devan growling angrily. _

_"Ok, then can I?"_

_"Not without a boon."_

_Devan sweated nervous as the young woman rose, a slightly not-so-sane light coming to her eyes. "What sort of boon?"_

_"I want my old fighting abilities back. Now." She thought about it, then added, "Up to the ability level and knowledge that I had when we left Tortall."_

_Devan sputtered angrily, "What?! But...I can't...that's not...sis?!"_

_"That's fair," stated Trystan with a shrug. "Considering what you've put her through, that's entirely fair."_

_"...fine." He held out his hand grudgingly. "Do we have a deal?"_

_Briteyes took his hand firmly and shook it, feeling something prick her hand as her blood was taken and placed as a seal, a blood oath, even as the room began to fade as she was cast back into the darkness once again..._

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Nicole slowly walked to the cage of the shrike, opening and gently leading it out, doing everything with the utmost caution . With as great a care as was possible as she buckled the saddle and reins firmly in place, letting the giant bird sit there and get used to having them on again while feeding it bits of meat all the while and telling it what a wonderful bird it was even for being named Butch the whole while.

Lifting herself up on a puff of wind, she slowly lowered herself into the saddle, bit by bit putting more of weight on the creature and making sure it wouldn't suddenly (or violently as it had been) react to it. Settling herself once she was fully in place, she took a bit of meat that was far larger than the rest that she'd fed the bird and hefted it up in the winds, dangling it in front of the shrike's beak before making it take off with the winds.

Just as she'd hoped, the giant predator of the skies took off after it, leaving the small sprite to hang on for the ride. Around and around they went, skimming just over the crew's head more than once as they continued these aerial gyrations. Laughing with glee, she closed her eyes and held out her arms like she was the bird itself....and found herself hung up on a piece of rigging where Butch had followed the meat through and she hadn't been small enough to go with it!

Falling back to the deck, the small person landing with a soft 'thump' and lay there groaning, blinking back the stars in her eyes as Jack stood there and laughed. Butch landed right above him, laughing as well while gulping down the meat he'd speared on his talons. 

"Oh...go take a long walk off a short pier..." 

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Where to now?" asked Bry as she rode in the back of the other two, leaning back lazily in her saddle and just enjoying the late afternoon sun.

"How about this Master Vescom?" asked Randy as he studied the map. "He's just an hour off the road if we split from the caravan at this next crossroads to the left. Also, we need his credit to get our Masters so we might as well drop in now and get his 'Specialized Magics' course along with his 'Recognizing Unmagics' course at the same time."

"Sounds good to me," agreed Olivia, fiddling with a bit of mage's ice in the palm of her hand that was constantly changing shape. 

"Ok, sure," said Bryanna, turning back to the book she'd been browsing from one of the other caravan members. "Just...give me a heads up when it's time to turn, ok? I want to be sure to give this back to that George guy before we do..."

"Yeah, sure."

They continued with the caravan until a few hours before sunset, splitting from it and passing through a small town along the way until they reached a lone brick mansion a few miles outside of town, set by itself in a vale of sorts of old, twisted trees. 

Bryanna shivered slightly as they entered the yard, closing the gate behind them and dismounting in the main courtyard.

"You go knock on the door," said Olivia as she began to remove her saddlebags from the mount. "This was your idea..."

Randy glanced about the entirely silent yard, gulped, and then nodded consentingly slowly. "Um...ok..." He walked up to the door by himself and lifted the knocker gingerly, as if the jaws of the gargoyle there might suddenly come alive and snatch his hand from the rest of his body. The 'knock' echoed hollowly about the house and yard, Randy adding a few more that were louder than the first before backing off quickly and heading for his horse. "Well...guess no one's home..."

"Who goes there?! Well come on, answer me!" All three looked up to see a balding, slightly heavy set man leaning out of a window a few stories up. 

Olivia prodded Randy in the side, the young man finally finding the words to speak. "Students, from Lightsbridge University!" he called back, pointing to the badge on his shirt though the man couldn't possibly distinguish it from there.

"Students, you say?" the man seemed to consider his words, and then nodded. "Very well, I shall be right down..."

"Are you coming Bry?" asked Olivia as the other two grabbed their things and headed back towards the door, the healer remaining motionless beside her horse.

"Hm?" Bryanna looked at them, then nodded as she realized they were moving. "Uh...yeah. I'm coming..."

The front door opened, the man coming out to bow to them, observing them as they had already done as they bowed in return. He was about Randy's height, probably in his 40's or 50's, black hair that was non-existent on top of his head and a rough beard that just fell below his chin. Eyes that roamed restlessly, they seemed pleasant on the outside, but if one cared to look deeper you got the feeling of something deep and dark. Dressed entirely in black, he welcomed them into his home and set them all up in rooms of their own on the main hall.

Bryanna looked around her room, shivering again though she was sweating from the heat of the fire in the hearth. 

"Are you sure you're going to be ok?" asked Olivia as she looked over her pale companion, pausing in the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Bry as she shook it off, heading for her bags and began to unpack her things. "I just need to keep busy, I think..."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Brenna hummed pleasantly to herself as she crushed the plants in her small, wooden bowl and then dumped them in a small cauldron of boiling water. Stirring it while reading the book in front of her aloud to herself, she carefully dipped a rag in the solution with another hand and laid it with some others to dry on the rack to the side.

"What'cha doing, Brenna?" asked Kaitlin as she came bounding in, tugging on Brenna's long, raven hair playfully. The resident farm girl swatted her away, being careful not to upset either the small cauldron or the bowl of mashed plants.

"Just testing some stuff," replied Brenna lightly as she picked some other flowers from the bundle she had to the side and plucking their petals to go in a separate bowl. Taking the pestle, she ground them into a thin syrup with some water added to lighten it a little. "I found this book, see? It's on plant dyes. Turns out we have most of the plant dies right here, on the farm. So I figured, what the heck? Might as well see if I can get some of this to work and maybe re-dye some of our clothes so they're not covered with stains any more."

"They're stains from hard work," admonished Kaitlin, wagging her finger belligerently. "They're not something to be taken lightly!"

"I'd still rather try and perhaps find another color I can dye my work robes other than that light brown," replied Brenna with a shrug as she went back to her work. "Hand me that stack of rags, will you? I want to see what color this turns out as and what its cross with a light blue will do to it..."

"Alright, alright..." Kaitlin obediently crossed the kitchen as Cheeks dashed in the room, followed by two rather wound up twins who knew they were closing in on their target. Brenna (who didn't see them as they were coming from behind) turned with one of her 'no-good' dyes to throw it out and was crashed into by the twins, the dye spilling down her front and all over her hands, immediately staining it a lovely, putrid green.

*twitch* Brenna stood there with her newly-colored skin, a vein appearing on her forehead as Cheeks disappeared entirely and the twins immediately hid behind Kaitlin. 

"Hey," commented Kaitlin as she shielded them from Brenna's growing death glare. "At least you CAN'T blame this one on me."

Brenna's eyes twitched again. "Watch me."

Kaitlin suddenly decided it would be a good time to make herself scarce, disappearing with the twins like wisps of wind and leaving Brenna standing there fuming as Libby walked in. 

"Dude, you're green," said Libby, stopping to look at her in surprise. 

"Yeah," Brenna sighed angrily. "The twins were being stupid again, and I got this dye all over me. 

"Aw..." Libby paused, then laughed. "Sucks to be you. Later!"

Brenna smacked herself on the forehead, leaving a green handprint there as she headed for the washroom. *grumbles about killing twins on the way*

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kristen paced the rows of her largest class, occasionally pausing to firmly correct the stance of one student or another as Cam lead them through a kata she'd found in one of her many books on fighting. 

"Hand higher here," she murmured as she lifted the said appendage a few inches. "And your foot needs to be farther out, like this..." The exercise ended and she dismissed them, heading for the front as always to speak with the parents who were gathered there to watch their children's progression.

"Madame Kristen," said one the women, a shy little thing with big, brown eyes and mouse-ish hair. She was well dressed for a merchant's wife, for her husband owned the leather market, but still kept her clothes rather plain and free of ornament most of the time. 

"Good to see you today, Mistress Palmer," replied Kristen with a respectful nod. "If this is about Joey, you don't need to worry....he was perfectly well behaved in class today."

"I am glad to hear it, but that's not it," replied the woman softly. "Halley, his little sister, would like to join the lower level class as well. And while I, personally, do not see any problems with this my husband is less than ecstatic about such a prospect..."

"Such a pretty young girl as she, I can see why," replied Kristen carefully. "But might you suggest that it would be beneficial to her well being should she be attacked that she know at least the basics of self defense...? There is not need to go to higher levels like Joey wishes to, but perhaps a few courses might make the difference between staying alive and becoming the next victim of a heinous crime."

"I will mention that to him," said Mistress Palmer with a grateful nod. "Thank you, Madame, and good day."

"Good day to you too, Mistress Palmer!"

"Ma'am, my lord wishes to meet you," said Ramon, one of the servants who brought a small boy for his master every other day for instruction. Not that she was complaining, young Tobey was one of her brightest pupils, and would probably go into Jon's class eventually. "His accountant has insisted that should he keep spending money on such a class, he should meet the teacher." Gently he guided her over towards the door, keeping his head slightly bowed at all times. Though slightly subdued, he was a likeable fellow and she didn't mind him as much as she did some of the others. 

"I suppose if it is necessary..." Kristen followed him over. She also didn't particularly care to deal with nobles in general, but a customer was a customer, and they were in no position to turn down money of any (legal) kind.

"My lord, this is Madame Kristen, the Master of this Self-Defense course," said Ramon as he bowed low. Kristen bowed slightly to the man, it not being required by law as she was a Master in her own right to bow as low as Ramon did, a title equal to that of any Lesser Noble. 

The man who stood before her was obviously more of a scholarly nature than physical, with a high forehead and a long nose that denoted him as one of the Renton Clan. Fair, straight hair fell to just above his collar, blue eyes that had been guarded with indifference and boredom glanced her over. That is, they were until they met her own and they immediately melted into begging puppy love in an instant. 

"My fair lady, oh beautiful one who makes even the sun seem dim with her shining glory," he breathed as he took her hand, kissing it before she could jerk it away and bowing before her gracefully. "Oh, that mine servant and son have laid eyes upon such beauty as this day after day and have not yet come home gushing of thine splendor....it is beyond the likes of such a mortal as I to why not."

"Myself as well," replied Kristen with a hint of sarcasm, backing away slowly. "A...pleasure to meet you, Sir. Now if you will excuse me, I have other things to attend to."

"Of course, but the sun and the moon will seem dim and the very air about me stale until I am in your presence again, my brilliant diamond of my heart!"

Kristen sighed as she slipped away, feeling a headache forming behind her eyes. "Right..."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Ben remembered only that the horse had stopped and he wasn't shoved off it immediately when he was traded from one set of keepers to another, bought by some unknown being and taken elsewhere than where he had been heading originally. Or so he guessed, anyway. Vaguely he could recall hearing a bag of coins being tossed from one set of hands to another, being shoved in a pouch, and then someone coming and untying him from his bonds. 

Once he was off the horse his new owners tossed him in the back of a wagon, leaving him locked in there with a bit of bread and water, stopping once at sunset everyday and giving him five minutes to relieve himself behind a bush before they shoved him in there again. Cold and numb with grief and fear, he could hardly sleep or even eat as the days went on, growing hot and feverish, often completely delusional with dreams that they hadn't taken him but instead killed them both, torturing each to their last breath again and again and again...

His routine was abruptly changed again as the wagon stopped at its final destination, but he was too sick by this point to even notice or care. Someone dragged him out roughly and he was taken down into a building a small corner of his mind noted that he should be familiar with, but it was unheard among the clamor of the other voices in his head. 

Thrown into a dark cell, he collapsed where they left him, tired, sick, hungry, and wishing he were dead. Tears ran down his face as he slowly fell asleep, his dreams once more haunted by the horrible images of the past. His sister was dead, his best friend probably killed with her, no idea where he was, and no one to turn to. What else was there to live for?

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Jack swore as Tanner got over his guard again and whacked him hard on the shoulder, leaving another bruise among the collection he already had. "You don't have to hit so hard!" he grumbled as he backed off, rubbing his shoulder gently. Tanner had asked to spar with him a few days ago, and finding out that Jack had never learned to fight with his staff had immediately began a new kind of training for him to learn how. 

"You don't have to let me get over your guard, either," retorted Tanner with a cocky grin. "Wimp. Come on, you can try it again if you want."

"What's wrong, Jack, afraid of getting beat by little old him?" asked Jenny as she passed by, mainly absorbed in the map she had in her hands.

"This isn't fair, he's bigger than me and has, like, twelve years most experience man, compared to my twelve's friggin hours!" snorted Jack as he sat down on a crate nearby. 

"Hey, it's not my fault you didn't pick up on a basic skill ever self-respecting Trader aught to know," shot back Tanner with a shrug. "Maybe if you hadn't been such a thick-headed pansy as a kid..."

"Knock it off, Tanner," cut in Jenny quickly before things came to blows and Jack REALLY got his butt kicked. "It's not his fault, we've been over this already. Teach him if you want, just don't taunt him in the process."

Tanner nodded respectfully. "Yes, ma'am."

"It's still not fair that I'm facing someone that's bigger and better," Jack pointed out quickly. 

"Alright then," said Jenny, glancing above to the rigging where Tyler was swinging around like a monkey as always. "Hey, Tyler, get down here!!"

"Coming!!" He let go of the rope he was hanging on to and dropped down in front of her, his usual carefree smile on his face as he went to a mock attention. "Reporting for duty, Ma'am!"

"At ease," she said with a wink, playing along with the little game they had. "Go get your staff, young'un, and get back here on the double!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Tanner coughed lightly. "I should probably mention one little detail..."

"No need to, I have this one covered," replied Jack cockily as Tyler appeared back in his spot, immediately going to the ready for a fight. "You're going down, little guy!"

Tyler just smiled...

*twenty minutes and several more bruises on Jack later*

Jack lay there on the deck with Tyler sitting pertly on his back, his staff somewhere to the side and his pride shot down out of the sky. Unable to move, he just stayed put and groaned from the massive amounts of pain he had just endured. 

"What do you know," said Jenny with a shrug as she headed back for her cabin. "I guess the little bugger's fairly good, uh?"

"I tired to warn you," commented Tanner as he circled Jack slowly. "Tyler is the better than me and Trev COMBINED."

Tyler winked and jumped back up into the rigging, giggling like a little girl as he did. 

"Oh...oh well. Tough luck, Jack." Jenny closed the door behind her as Tanner disappeared below the deck, Jack not even bothering to get up as he couldn't right then.

"I hate you all..."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bry sped through the halls of the creepy mansion as quickly as she could, finding herself out in open sunlight a few moments later and in the stable just seconds after that. Sitting down across from her mare, she finally felt the worst of her migraine begin to fade away. 

Nothing was going right. Her spells refused to work half the time, she couldn't heal anything unless she was outside the mansion grounds. And their teacher, well, don't even get her started on him. He was so flashy and performance-oriented, using three times the magic to 'spice' up a spell that would hardly take any power at all without all the flare he'd added to it. He insisted she create green auras around herself while healing to 'calm the patient'. Or so he argued. To her, it shouldn't make much difference to a person either way. If you're hurt, you're hurt, and you're going to be calmed just from the knowledge that you'll soon be fixed, with or without aura .

Besides, some commoners were afraid of magic, and wouldn't that just frighten them all the more?? He was theatrical, the bastard, she just wanted to take her powers and stop his heart completely...unfortunately that was impossible as her healing powers had no effect around him AT ALL.

Besides not being able to work her spells, she was constantly getting these headaches and was in all around cranky mood. Randy had attributed it to being 'that time of the month', and she'd nearly strangled him. Not that that wasn't a daily occurrence, as he practically worshiped the ground their new teacher walked on, and it made her nauseous just to think about it. Couldn't he see how fake the pompous windbag was? How little he could actually do in light of how much power he wasted on special effects?

Olivia, of course, had taken her usual stand. She simply didn't care. She'd already learned what there was to know, had mastered the techniques, had gotten her seal, and was waiting for them to catch up. In the mean time, she'd taken up making ice sculptures again and had made a wonderful miniature of them together the other day. Randy was taking his time because he didn't want to leave period, and she still couldn't get past the basics because for some reason she couldn't work in this environment. At this rate, they'd be here through spring and into summer. She'd kill herself before she'd stay here that long, though.

"Feeling alright?" asked Olivia as she stuck her head in the door, some carrots in one hand and an ice pack in the other. 

"Better," replied Bryanna with a slight smile. "Thank you so, so much..."

"Eh, it's not like I have something better to do," said Olivia with a shrug, handing her the specially made pack to help her relieve her headache since she couldn't use her healing powers to numb it and they'd run out of painkillers a few days ago. Walking up to her horse, she petted the beast's nose and fed it a carrot, murmuring gently to it the whole while.

"I really don't like this place," shivered Bry as she felt something watching over her shoulder, glancing about herself nervously when she suddenly felt it go away. "There's something just...wrong about it."

"I think you're imagining things," admitted Olivia slowly. "But I dunno, I will admit the Master guy is a bit...odd. And not odd like Wesley is either, he's just plain odd."

"Wes wasn't odd, he was "special"," replied Bryanna with a quick grin. "But...yeah, I can't wait to get out of here."

"Come on, I'll see what I can do to help you get through the spells then because truth be told I'm very bored and the sooner we get out of here the happier my poor, dead mind will be."

"...ok."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Brenna sat there staring at her still-green hands in frustration. It had been three days since the accident, and still the dye would not come off. She'd tried washing them with soap and water, scrubbing them with some cloth-soap and a brush, dunking them in near-boiling water, trying to exfoliate the skin off, and all sorts of other tonics and remedies other members of the house had suggested. Yet still the horrid green remained, seemingly even stronger than before. Having pealed off a few blisters on her palm, she found that even UNDER the blisters her skin was green, and having green hands for the rest of her life (in Summer Sea) was definitely not something she wanted to do.

"Brenna!" called Rupal as she came in the front door, leaving it open as she did. "Another basket of goodies from the twins and someone here to see you!"

"Coming!" Brenna called back, tucking her hands in the full sleeves of her gardening robe and heading for the front at a fast walk. Passing Kaitlin in the kitchen, she noted the twins huddling in the corner in fear and smirked to herself. At least they now feared her wrath. Perhaps having green hands would have its perks...she could hold this over their heads the rest of the time they were there! "Who is it?" she asked as she picked up the basket Rupal pointed to, seeing no one around.

"Ahem..." She turned to see an older woman standing behind her, wearing a similar robe to her own with patches and stains on it, obviously something only used for work. With an open smile, the woman bowed slightly. "'Allo! I would be the twin's mum, Joan."

"Oh! I'm Brenna, owner of the farm," replied the resident farmer in surprise as she bowed quickly, bringing her hands out of her sleeves without realizing it. "Nice to meet you..." Noticing Joan's stare, she looked down and gulped. "Whoops..."

"Please tell me that's not the natural color of your skin," said Joan a bit bluntly backing up a step.

"No!! I...uh...there was this accident with some dye, ok? My hands came out like this and I can't get it to come off..."

"Oh, I see." The woman sighed in obvious relief and smiled benevolently. "Don't worry, my dear, I have just the thing! Here." She fished out a small bottle, handing it to Brenna. "Try that."

Brenna uncorked it suspiciously. "...what is it?"

"That? Oh...just some lemon juice...." Joan whistled innocently.

She sniffed the bottle and made a face. "It doesn't smell like lemon juice..."

"Just try it already!" Joan sighed impatiently. "Do you want green hands or not?!"

Brenna held up the said limbs in submission. "Ok, ok..." Pouring some on her hands, she turned her head away so she wouldn't smell it and rubbed it in, wiping them on a cloth Joan handed to her before turning back to her hands. Blinking several times to make sure it wasn't a dream, she gasped, "...they're not green!!! YES!! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!" Dancing around the room, she came to a stop beside the twin's mother and asked, "Seriously, what is that?? I might need it again later on..."

"Well, if you really want to know..."

"I do I do I do!!"

"Alright...the base is pint of lemon juice that you leave out for six days in the sun, and then add half a cup of sour milk and some finely powdered dried horse's poo before letting it set for another day and then add some more manure (wet this time) and some urine if you can get it..."

About the time she mentioned manure, Brenna wasn't so sure it was worth not having green hands anymore....

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Kristen, there's someone here for you!" said Cam as he came barreling into the room, stopping to stand there panting and gulp some water from the pail beside kitchen sink. "Jon and Mike are waitin' for you up there, so you might want to hurry."

"Who is it?" she asked lightly, continuing to bend over her project of copying the stances and katas from the book in front of her. 

"That noble fellow who's drooling all over you all the time."

Kristen sat up quickly. "NO!!"

"Yeah."

"Shoot..."

"What are you doing?!" demanded Mike as he stuck his head in the door. "This guy's loaded and he's here for some sort of business proposition. Get you butt in here NOW!!"

"Alright, alright...I'm coming!" She wiped off her hands and grabbed the pot of tea she'd been making herself with some cups and a plate of cookies left over from last night's dinner.

Walking into their sitting room, she bowed respectfully and took the only seat that was left beside the immaculately dressed noble. "Good evening, Sir...?"

"Gwain," he supplied for her quickly. "I apologize for neglecting to mention my own name the other day, Miss Kristen, but I was otherwise occupied admiring your beauty..."

Kristen grit her teeth and sent Matt a look, which he responded to quickly. "Sir Gwain," he coughed lightly. "I'm sure you understand we're rather busy people, and haven't much time for this...proposition of yours...?"

"Oh, quite right." He nodded and pulled a document from his pocket and laid in on the table. "My esteemed gentleman and most fair lady, before you I lay this proposition. Your school of fighting has done very well for itself, but is it not time for it to move up slightly? To...make a big gain of sorts, if you will. Create a name for itself in all of Emelan. I suggest that you hold a Mastery of the Combative Arts Contest, right here in your school!"

"One small little problem," said Jon rather wryly. "You know, that thing called money?"

"Yes, I am aware of that," went on Sir Gwain as he sent Jon a rather haughty glare. "But that is where I come in. I will sponsor this for you, if you have a door fee, a sign up fee, and sell food vendor's slots in the yard with a tax on whatever they make and keep whatever you make after you pay back the 'loan', if you will."

"What's the catch?" asked Matt suspiciously. "You're not letting us use this money for free, are you?"

The noble held up his hands in submission. "All I wish in return is the assurance that all of you will attend the ball that I will throw in your honor afterwards." He gave Kristen a longing look. "And I do mean ALL of you..."

Matt shot Kristen a look that silenced her as she began to protest, keeping her anger apparent with the death glares she sent him but remaining silent none the less. "We accept."

"Excellent! My servant will be getting in touch with you and the dean of my coffers soon, so you can discuss just how much you will need and in what time frame this can be accomplished, ok?"

"Alright, then." All four of them rose as Sir Gwain prepared to leave, handing them the parchment and heading for the door that Jon hurried to open for him. "Good day, Sir Gwain."

"Good day, to you all! And may your day be most excellent, fairest of the fair, and capturer of my heart!" With that he whisked himself away, Kristen cracking her knuckles as she attempted to restrain the urge to jump after him and strangle the man to death.

"Oh Matt..." she said in a light voice, the undercurrent of it a deadly one.

"Yes?" he asked, turning around nervously.

She pinned him down with a glare. "You just signed me up to wear a dress to that pompous meathead's ball, didn't you?"

"...yes?"

Kristen was after him like a shot. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!!"

Matt ran away screaming, since his saber was up in his room, and he was otherwise unarmed. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Briteyes, as she refused to go by anything else anymore, lay patiently on her back as Moonstream inspected what was left of her wounds, the head dedicate's power flowing through her in a gentle, calming way. 

"You've spoken with Devan, haven't you?" murmured the Dedicate as she slowly began to pull out of her trance, her eyes meeting the one of Briteyes' that could be seen. 

"Yes," she replied in surprise, stroking the sleeping Silven's head gently as she did. "How did you know?"

"There are traces of his magic in you," explained Moonstream. "And traces of some new power as well...he has struck a deal with you, then?"

"Yes, he has." 

Moonstream waited to see if anymore would be said, but finding the young woman silent decided to change the subject instead. "Your facial bandage can come off now, if you wish."

"Get it off, then," came the flat reply. "It itches most of the time."

"Alright..." Moonstream did so, slowly unwinding the bandage on her face as she noticed something about the hand that was shielded around the squirrel. "Briteyes...where did that come from?"

The young woman gazed up at her in confusion as she lay still so she wouldn't get cut in the slicing off of the bandages. "Where did what come from?"

Moonstream took her hand and raised it to her eye level, tracing the apparent scar there with her thumb. "That. I know it wasn't there before."

"Devan had to combine this body with one of my old ones," explained Amanda quickly simply, pulling her hand free and laying it where it had been before. "Thus, some of my old scars as back. Like that one."

"I see...well...how's the other eye?" Moonstream pulled away the last of the bandage and turned the shutters on low on the lamp beside the table, dimming the room, considerably. Slowly opening the foresaid eye, the performer let it adjust to the light and began to look around, using her left hand to inspect the skin around it itself and tracing the scar there than ran from the top of her forehead to the edge of her chin right over the left eye.

"I can see...though it's going to take awhile to get used to the light." Briteyes paused, Silven rousing and coming to stand on her lap as she slowly sat up in bed brushed her hair out of her face. "Could I...see a mirror?"

"Are you sure?" The dedicate began to reach for one that happened to be in the room, hesitating as she did. "You don't have to...though..." She coughed and quirked and eyebrow slightly. "I would like to know why one eye that was once a dark blue is now a dark green. Are you going to tell me?"

"No."

"Do you still want the mirror?"

"Yes."

"Very well..." The dedicate handed it over as she rose to leave the room, patting her on the shoulder one last time before she left to get back to the Head Dedicate duties that she'd taken back up the week before. 

Briteyes turned the lamp up slightly, tracing the pinkish ridge that ran down her face numbly as Silven scampered up to her shoulder and hugged her around the neck.

#It's not so bad you know...you could ask the dedicates to fix it...??#

A single tear slid from her left eye, falling straight down the track the scar had made in her skin. "I couldn't care less about the scar...I just want my Ben back..."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Gwen carefully measured out each cup of ingredients as Tyler dutifully stirred everything together beside her, working up a sweat his small arms were going so fast.

"Flour...yeast...the eggs...and some ground oats...that should do it!" She set the measuring cups aside and dusted off her hands in satisfaction.

"Now what?" asked Tyler, looking at the mound of dough he had before him. "Do we just stick it in the oven and let it cook?"

"No, silly," Gwen took a handful of flour and dusted it on the counter, getting her fingers lightly covered as well. "Now we knead the dough until it's elastic enough to be set to rise, and in a few hours we'll start to bake it!"

"Oh, ok...how do you knead dough? Do you put it on the floor and walk over it with your knees or something?"

"You're too cute sometimes," commented Gwen as she dumped the dough on the floured countertop, working her fingers into it for a few moments before she doubled it over onto itself and began to work her hands through it again. "It's like this, see? You just work it like so...and then roll it together and start over again."

"Can I try?" asked Tyler, inching closer as he watched.

"Oh, I dunno if you could," replied Gwen with a wicked gleam in her eye. "Such a little kid like you....I'd have to come back and finish it for you in the end. Nope, I'd rather just finish the whole thing myself."

"I could finish it!" argued Tyler, getting his hands floury and sticking his chin out stubbornly. "Watch!"

"Alright..." Gwen watched as he began to thump the dough with his small fists, up to his elbows in the stuff as he grimly struggled onwards.

"Do you need me to take over?" asked Gwen, giving him one last chance.

"I got it," he snapped. "I'll show you! I'll get it done....how much longer do I have before it's done."

Gwen headed up the steps to the deck. "Fifteen minutes."

Tyler's jaw dropped before he started on a very colorful tirade of words that followed her all the way back to the cabin.

"Where are you going, Gwen?" asked Nicole as she floated by on a tuft of wind.

"Getting a pen and some paper."

"...why?"

"Because Tyler's cursing again and I want to take notes for later." Gwen grinned innocently. "He uses some phrases that I never would have thought of!"

Nicole shook her head as she floated away. "Right..."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna stormed through the halls of the mansion, a book in one hand and a sealed jar in the other, bursting into the Master Mage's workshop and slamming the book and jar down on the nearest table so hard that everything around it rattled.

"I'm sure you have a good reason for such an intrusion," commented the mage with a hint of steel in his voice, glancing up at her from the text he'd been reading. "Or at least, you'd better think of one quick...it is rude to intrude like that."

"You're teaching blood magic!!" shouted Bryanna accusingly, unable to hold it in any longer. She flipped the book to the back, showing the seal on it. "A well-known clan of blood mages wrote this twenty years ago. When the clan was rounded up and destroyed, all the texts and scrolls were supposed to have burned with them. Though here is one, still in good condition, and one must wonder how you've managed to get it..."

"Insolent brat, all my books have been reviewed and approved by the Council of Mages," retorted the mage. "It is not blood magic if you use your own blood and do not steal that of another!"

Bryanna knocked the jar over, spilling a rust-red dust all over the table. "That is the blood of animals, which you _specifically_ told me to use. That's not my blood, is it? As a healer, I've sworn never to use the blood of humans _or animals_, which is just as disallowed as human blood is."

"No, the only restriction on animal's blood is that the animal must die a natural death, and not cruel treatment may be involved."

"What does it matter?! Once the blood is taken for blood magic, the carcass is not even good for eating afterwards. The hide useless, not even it's bones fit for other purposes. To use its blood is a waste of resources!" argued Bryanna heatedly. "I'd rather use the animal for food, leather, and other things that to waste all of that just for a pint of dried blood."

"There are methods now which you may obtain the blood without ruining the rest of the beast for other means," insisted the mage. "You speak of things you cannot understand, child! How can you turn away the chance to save more than you were before, to increase your own power so that others might live??"

"If to increase other's lives is to take other's lives away in death, than I'd rather work with what I have and leave it at that," snapped Bryanna. "I refuse to be taught by you any further, Master Mage. Regardless of my seal for graduation, I will not complete the studies any longer, and the sooner we can leave I say the better! And believe me, the Mage's Council will be hearing about this."

With that she stalked out of the room, heading back for her own at a run the moment she was out of sight. She wanted out, and she wanted out _now._

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Libby and Cheeks walked together through the woods, Libby with the ax that had its cover on it in her hands and Cheeks pulling the wagon along behind. It was just a small little thing, large enough to haul decent amounts of firewood in without being over burdensome. 

"Are you sure it's around here?" asked Libby as she glanced all around, following the faint track before them as Cheek's followed a few paces behind.

"Yeah, she said it was along this track," replied Cheeks as he paused to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Wait, I think it's up ahead..."

Following the track a bit more, they found a huge tree that had recently fallen, Libby going around and picking up all the bits of dead wood she could find and Cheeks taking the ax so he could chop off larger logs for their own use.

"How...much...more..." asked Libby as she panted from her 'hard work', Cheeks casting a baleful eye over the meager pile she'd accumulated and snorting in reply. "Oh, fine."

"Yeah, hurry up. We need as much kindling as we do regular logs." 

They had just filled the cart over halfway when Cheeks paused, turning his head slowly as if searching for something.

"What's wrong?" asked Libby, getting only a hand held up for silence in reply. Cocking her head slightly, she listened as well, and heard a far off wail, like someone crying for help.

"Did you hear that?" asked Cheeks, their eyes meeting as she nodded slightly. Turning back towards were the sound had come from they took off at a run, going fast enough that they weren't walking but not going so fast that they'd possibly miscalculate where the sound was coming from. 

Like a shot, a boy came scrambling through the brush, bowling into Libby and knocking them both to the ground.

"Hey!" she yelled, getting a hold on his collar as he tried to pick himself up and continue on his way. "What're you.."

*RAWR*

"AHHH!!" Cheeks hefted the ax he'd brought with him out of instinct and brought it down hard on the head of the beast that had suddenly appeared out of this air, cleaving its head in two with a single stroke. 

Everything was silent for a few moments as the beast fell, it's black blood pooling beneath it before it disappeared in a wisp of black smoke and the three of them were left alone in the forest once more. 

"You...you killed it..." whispered the boy as he clung to Libby's leg, Libby still frozen in fear from having a huge, wolverine-type monster leap at her out of the blue.

"That thing was really big..." she whispered faintly, Cheeks dropping the axe and coming to steady her as she began to sway. "With really big, sharp teeth..."

"Hey, it's gone now, ok?" replied Cheeks, his voice remaining steady though inside he was shaking like a leaf. "Come on...the others will be wondering where we got to."

Libby looked down at her leg. "What about the kid?"

"Hm?"

The boy suddenly realized he was being looked at and let go of Libby's leg, scrambling on all fours as if to run away again when Cheeks reached over and grabbed the back of his shirt, lifting him to his feet and setting him between Libby and himself. He just came to Libby's chest, about ten or so with pale skin and dark hair. Hollows showed where his cheeks should have been, sucked in from obvious lack of food, and the rings under his eyes betrayed either sleepless nights or constant physical exhaustion. From the way he had been running, probably both.

"Oh no, you don't," said Cheeks firmly. 

"Yeah, who are you and what the heck was that?" asked Libby in an annoyed manner, wrinkling her nose at the thought of the beast's blood. 

"Just a kid..." he mumbled, slouching as if trying to hide within himself. "Dun make me go back...they'll make me do the scary stuff again!!"

"Nobody's making you do anything, kid," replied Cheeks. "What's your name, though?"

"They...well, m'name's Jem," he stuttered, shaking in either fear or exhaustion, or perhaps both.

"Well then, Jem, I think right now the best thing for you would be to come with us," said Cheeks as he picked up the ax, wiping it off on some leaves and putting its head cover back on.

"You won't make me go back, will you?" asked the boy as he began to back away, a fearful look in his eyes.

"Not if you don't want to," replied Libby with a shrug. "Come on, we can talk more when we get back to the house.

He looked at them suspiciously. "You two aren't some young married couple looking for a kid to chuck all the work on, are you?"

Cheeks and Libby glanced at each other, then laughed. 

"Heck no, kid! Come on, we'll get you some food, though, and maybe a decent night's sleep before we decide what to do with you," stated Libby firmly as he followed them back to the wagon reluctantly, and then climbed in at her bidding. Huddling in a corner, he continued to meekly ride there the rest of the way to the house, seemingly resigned to whatever fate had thrown him next.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kristen smiled to herself in the clamor that arose everywhere. Only a week since Sir Gwain had approached them with his 'proposition', and in a week's time they'd managed to put together everything they'd needed for such an event. Fighters from all over Summer Sea, and even Emelan had come pouring in from other towns and the countryside to prove their skills. Others had been hired for small fees to judge the fights, some Masters she'd managed to contact among other famous fighters who'd happened to be in town at the time and had offered to lend their services for the free publicity their own schools of the Combative Arts would receive in return.

Having just come from the rings herself, she felt pretty good in the solid win she'd just had. The other woman had given her a run for her money, an old grizzled thing who probably could've thrown Kristen out a window in her prim, but had blurred her vision and slowed her speed, making her skills no match to the younger, fresher woman Kristen was. Unfortunately, Sir Gwain had been there to see it and she could sense him coming up behind her with his usual, love struck-ish look on his face.

"Oh, fairest of the fair, you sure are a goddess of might and war, and even wisdom in your own right!" he praised her lavishly as he tried to take her hand and kiss it, finding his lips only met air and her hands were linked rather firmly behind her back. "You have won now three rounds in a row! Such stamina, such speed, whoever finds it in them to beat you surely must be a god of sorts for no mortal ever could!"

"Ah...I thank you for your....thoughts, Sir Gwain," replied Kristen slowly, carefully choosing each word so she wouldn't encourage him, nor insult him to the point that he'd yank all the money he'd lent them away in one fell swoop. "Though they are opinions, and certainly not fact. Though if you'll excuse me, I think I'm being summoned by one of my partners..."

"One last thing," he practically begged her, grabbing hold of her elbow. Kristen resisted the urge to rip herself out of his grip and smack him across the face.

"...yes?"

"You will be there at the ball in your honor, yes?" he asked pleadingly. "Oh, that it would light my life like the sun lights this world if you would allow yourself to enter such a humble man's hovel for once such evening."

Kristen seriously doubted Sir Gwain was humble, or him home but a hovel, but nodded just the same, albeit rather stiffly, before making herself disappear in the crowd. The man seriously needed to find a hobby that didn't involve her.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Ben remembered no more after the night of being thrown in the cell, his fever overcoming all other senses and locking him in his nightmares of the past that continued to haunt him, night after night and day after day until finally, the demons inside him lay still and he drifted out of the darkness to find himself lying on a soft cot staring at ceiling he was sure he'd never seen before. 

A kindly, wrinkled, old face appeared before his eyes, smiling down on his benevolently as he felt a warm, strong hand lift his head and help him sup from the cup that had been lifted to his lips.

"Drink, youngling," a hoarse, and aged voice whispered soothingly in his ear. "The worst is over now...Nana will always be here for you..."

He then drifted off again, but this time into real sleep, sleep without nightmares but instead peaceful dreams of playing on swing sets and jungle gyms, chasing Sandy the dog around the yard and coming home to find his sister home from school with a treat for him from her day's gain...

Once again, time passed and he had no idea at this point just how long he'd been captured, or even in this Summer Sea place for that matter. The same old lady still sat beside him, humming softly to herself as she set aside her knitting and instead picked up the shallow bowl of steaming liquid that had been waiting for him.

"Gently, now, gently," she crooned as she lifted his head again, helping him drink it, and then filling it with water as well at his soft request and helping him drink that was well. "So I see you've finally regained your senses...you gave us quite a scare for a few days, lad, and the Master would have been less than pleased should his new helper had died."

"Perhaps they should have given their 'helpers' better treatment while getting them here," mumbled Ben, closing his eyes as he sighed. "Please...ma'am...where am I?"

"In the Master's mansion," said the old woman sadly. "Same as you were when you and that spirited young thing came through a few months ago...she's not with you now, is she?"

"No," replied Ben sadly as he turned on his side, huddling up in a small ball with his face buried in the pillow. "They...they killed her...and Silven too..."

"Ah, there now, lad," she whispered as she gently ran a hand through his hair, soothing his quiet sobs with her touch alone. "She was a good 'un, I could tell, and the world be sorry to see her gone...but now you have to get strong again, so you'll survive in the rat race this place has come to be."

"I don't want to be strong," whispered Ben sadly. "I want my sister and Silven to be back."

"I know, I know...but they aren't coming back, lad. They just aren't, an' you know that too."

"I know..."

"Go back to sleep," she commanded softly as she continued to stroke his hair, his eyes closing of his own accord as she did. "We can talk of these things later, when you've had your rest and are well once again...sleep now, youngling, for Nana will be here to watch over you always..."

Humming softly, she lulled him to sleep, a deep one this time with no dreams, where he found complete rest.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Randy stormed into the room as Bryanna sat there fuming on her bed, trying to meditate and clear her mind of the emotions that continued to rage through her.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" he practically screamed as he grabbed her shoulders and shook her so hard that she thought her head might snap off. "What the HECK were you thinking, moron?! Insulting a Master Mage like that...and one with perfectly good credentials too!"

"He's a Blood Magic Mage, stupid," retorted Bryanna as she wrested herself from his grip, glaring daggers at him as she backed up a few steps to put some room between them. "I knew something was wrong here from the start, any Healer worth their title would be able to feel the death in this place from all the dried blood he most likely has stored here!!"

"Animals blood, which is perfectly acceptable!"

"It is not! Don't give me that bull, Randy, to use it is as a healer is like using a human's blood, I simply cannot do it!"

Randy shrugged and sighed. "So he made a mistake, big deal! It's perfectly alright for other mages to use animal's blood..."

"That's still killing them for the very thing that keeps them alive," argued Bryanna passionately. "I will not ever accept the use of any sort of blood other than your own to seal a spell with, anyone who things otherwise is a traitor to all mages and healers alike. Besides, he didn't try to teach it to Olivia, did he? What's so different about either of us, that I would have to learn Blood Magic and she wouldn't? I'll bet he was purposely trying to make me go against what I've learned as Healer for his own evil intents!"

"Now that's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard!!" cried Randy, forming his hands into fists as he leaned forward. "The Mage who has let us live here is as praiseworthy as any I've ever met, Bry, and if you're too stubborn to see what a wonderful man he is for teaching us all these things we've learned, then you've truly lost your mind!! That, or your heart's finally frozen through!!"

He turned and stomped back out the door, heading down the hall back towards the Master Mage's living and working quarters, leaving Bryanna to punch the pillow she had on her bed repeatedly while imagining it was his and the mage's face by turns. 

"Hey..." said Olivia gently as she stuck her head in the door a few moments later. "Everything alright in here? I could hear you guys all the way from outside."

"Yeah...no...I just want to get out of here..." Bryanna sighed, then turned so her back was to the door. "Will you please leave? I'd like to be alone for awhile..."

"If you want..." Olivia went back out into the hall, closing the door quietly behind her before going off in search of Randy. This was not good.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Nicole!!" called Gwen as she plunked a new, fat purse of coins into her belt pouch and pranced towards the gangplank to the wharf. "Oh Nicole..."

"Yeah?" replied the nymph-creature, popping up from below the deck. "You need something, Gwen?"

"Just someone to go shopping with me for awhile," replied Gwen with a sweet grin. "The guys are all busy, and Jen doesn't want to go but said I had to take someone with me, so will you?"

Nicole hesitated. "Do I have to?"

Gwen's grin turned slightly devilish. "You do if you want one of those gingersnaps I'm making tonight." She pulled half of one out of her pocket. "I'll even let you have the rest of this one from this morning's batch if you'll come along peaceful-like."

Nicole grumbled as she snatched the cookie from Gwen's hands. "This is extortion, or something like that," she muttered as she munched her way through the cookie that was half her size, her overly large mouth easily taking in a fourth of it at a time.

"Tee hee! We're gonna have fun!!" giggled Gwen as she skipped off the ship, Nicole in tow, towards the market place and small shops. "Just me, you, and shopping!!"

"Whoop de doo...."

*Five Hours Later*

Nicole lay there in a partially comatose state as Gwen continued to walk through the shops of the rather large sea port, occasionally buying something, but mainly window shopping and chattering on constantly until the poor, tiny nymph thought her pointed ears might fall off.

"Please?" she begged as they exited another glass-blower's shop. "For the love of GOD can we go back to the ship??"

"Ah...you're no fun..." pouted Gwen as she turned back, her eyes suddenly caught by some bunnies jumping through hoops on the side of the road and she stopped to watch. "Aww!! How cute..."

"Oi..."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Jem sat between Cheeks and Libby at the table, a plate of food set before him that Kaitlin continued to fill constantly as he practically inhaled everything that was set before him. Cheeks watched in slight amusement as the boy took care of half a chicken, some spare ribs, half a loaf of bread, a wheel of cheese, a salad, part of a pie, several cookies, and he was now eating an apple turnover in one hand and a peach turnover in the other, with a hung of onion and carrot flan in front of him.

"So, what now?" asked Brenna from where she sat across the table, drumming her fingers on the countertop as she munched on a cookie from the plate in the center as well.

"I say we keep him," said Kaitlin as she spooned on steamed vegetables onto Jem's plate, then whisked back into the kitchen to put the rest away. "I mean, look at him, he's adorable!" She pinched his cheeks teasingly. "How could anyone resist such a face...?"

"He may be cute, but we can't have any freeloaders around here," stated Libby firmly. "I mean, come on, I have to muck out horse stalls all day. Like heck if some kid who happen to be chased by some mutant wolf is going to sit around all day and scarf down our hard-earned food like he's the lord and master here or something."

"I never said that!" countered Kaitlin, sticking her tongue out at Libby. "I just said we should let him stay here."

"He might have family too, that's looking for him," added Libby quickly. "We could send him back to them and let him be their problem instead."

"Whatever we decide, we can certainly afford it," came the muffled voice of Rupal from the stack of books she was buried under as usual. "Finances are great right now for taking on another mouth to feed, if we must."

"Hey, I have an idea," cut in Cheeks as Libby started to open her mouth to start another argument. "Why don't we ask the kid?" All eyes turned to Jem as he self-consciously wiped the crumbs from his mouth and his hands on his shirt. 

"Alright," agreed Brenna as she looked him over again. He couldn't be more than ten or so, she figured, skinny from lack of food and huge eyes that held a slight tinge of fear, though they'd done nothing to even suggest they would hurt him as of yet. "What do you want, Jem? You can stay if you like, but if you want to leave we'll understand and help you in any way we can...what'll it be?"

"Uh..." The boy paused, then gulped. "If...if'n it'd be alright with yous here, an' you c'n find some work for'm t'do, I'd stay here..." He shifted in his seat, then added, "That is, if'n yous all would let me...and I'd b'safe here..."

"Of course you'd be safe here," said Brenna indignantly. "Like any place could be safer than MY farm! Ha! So, you're going to stay?"

"...if'n I can."

"You can," Cheeks assured him, patting his shoulder in a friendly manner. 

The boy smiled slightly, and nodded. "Then yeah, I'll stay."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kristen and Chris stood side by side as they watched the last of the competitions, the final few rounds that would decide the winners of their armed combat league. Matt was in one ring and Jon in another, the other four knocked out or having not participated for whatever reasons long ago. 

"It's almost done," breathed Kristen as she tried to force herself to stay awake. It had been an exhausting week, running from this event to that event, keeping everything running smoothly, and the cleanup she'd have to do afterwards! But it would all be worth it in the end when at last they had their winnings and earnings, and everything went back to normal with the fat bonus coming their way!

"I know, I'm going to have to replace half the boards in this floor from being beat so hard during all the fights," murmured Chris with an amused smile. "You'd better be glad you have a carpenter in this little group of yours, or you'd be losing everything you made just to get this place fixed up again alone."

"I'm grateful for a lot of things," replied Kristen as she clapped with the others as Jon caught his opponent straight across the face with his fist and he went down like a rock. "And that is one of them...ouch, that's gonna leave a mark."

"On the guy or the floor?"

"Probably both..." 

"Great. One more for me to replace."

"Yeah."

"Uh, Kristen?" asked Cam as he suddenly appeared nervously at her side, tugging on the edge of her tunic."

"Not now, Cam," she replied, putting a hand on his head. "Matt's about to take this guy down..."

"No, but it's really important...!!"

"Cam, not now! It can wait until after this next move, I'm sure..."

"But it really can't!!" He grabbed her arm and pulled it so she was facing him. "Kristen, there' a-"

A young boy suddenly came bursting into the front of the rings from the back of the room. "FIRE!!!"

Panic broke out, the flames suddenly becoming visible as they licked their way from the back hall into the main fighting area. People ran for the doors, Kristen grabbing Cam's hand and dragging him out after her as Jon and Chris stayed to the back, shoving out anyone who might get left behind. 

The fire then spread, quickly licking its way to the roof and roaring to life with the fresh air it found there. The roof collapsed inwards just as the last stragglers burst their way out, everyone having barely made it out alive.

A water chain was quickly formed, but even Kristen could tell it was too late as the fire transferred its way from the Dojo to the house, the upper floor of wood quickly eaten away to nothing while the lower floor that was stone remained firm. The fire was quenched before it would go any further, but it had done its work regardless. Their home, their place of work, was gone.

Chris stood with his hand on Cam's shoulder, the boy having buried his head in Kristen's shoulder and was crying softly as she stood there numbly in shock, mechanically rubbing his back but unable to do anything other than that. Jon sat at their feet with his sides heaving, being one of the last to run through with a wicked burn running up his arm where his sleeve had caught fire. Matt sat beside him and Mike stood behind him, neither one able to comprehend just what had taken place. Everything was simply gone.

"So...what now?" asked Matt after several moments of silence, everyone looking to Jon and Kristen since one of them had lived in a medieval time before and the other usually knew just what to do.

Jon just hung his head as Kristen shook her head sadly. "I just...don't know..."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Ben was startled out of his sleep by an incessant pounding on his bedroom door, Nana getting up and opening it slowly to see what the fuss was about. "Can I help you?" she asked dryly as two guards shouldered their way in, more than a hint of annoyance in her voice. 

"We're just here for the boy," said one of the guards gruffly as he pushed her aside, tossing a squire's outfit and a new, silver flute on the bed. "Master says he's to play for tonight's meal."

"Tonight?! He just got back on his feet three days ago!" exclaimed Nana in surprise. "No! This is far to soon for lad in his condition to even think about being out of bed for any extended period of time. You can just march yourselves right back to that Master of yours and tell him the boy will not..."

She was cut off as one of the guards backhanded her, just hard enough to daze her a little. "The boy comes or _you_ will take his punishment for insubordination of not showing!"

"Wait, don't!!" cried Ben as he struggled to get out of bed, barely able to even throw aside the sheets he was still so weak. "I'll go, just don't hurt her..."

Nana staggered back a few steps as they shoved past her back out the door. "Be ready in a few moments," one of the guards cautioned as they closed the door behind them. "We will be back soon to take you to the Master."

"I understand."

"Good." The door closed firmly and Ben was at Nana's side in an instant.

"Are you alright?" he asked as she shook her head and looked up at him with a rueful smile. 

"I'm fine," she replied, nudging him back towards his new clothes. "You'd best get ready before the come back, I keep forgetting that it is not a good idea to be on the bad side of those two."

"I'm sorry I got you in trouble," he whispered as he changed, the clothes being a bit big but he would grow into them soon. It was a set of hose and slippers, a loose formal shirt, and a tunic that went to his knees without a belt. All of it being in shades of brown and orange, it complimented his eyes and complexion nicely, as Nana commented just as the guards came back to take him away. 

"Come on, boy," one of them ordered, him instantly obeying out of fear from what those cold, cruel eyes might do to him.

"Yes, sir..."

"Be careful, now!" called Nana after him as she stayed in the room as ordered, nervously rubbing her hands as she did. "Don't over exert yourself, you hear?"

"I'll be careful!" promised Ben, turning back around and walking with his head down after a sharp reprimand from one of the guards. The flute clutched in his hands, he walked through the halls of the man who had killed his sister and now wished him to play willingly for his supper.

Life was way to full of cruel ironies, in his young opinion.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

And that would be chapter NINE. Please review, it would be MOST appreciated, yes indeed it would. Much love to all, and maybe there will be an update soon, since we have a four day weekend, and most of it at this point has been reserved for moi, and my typing of chapters. ^_^

~Crosseyedbutterfly~

'I'm not exactly sure where I was going, where I've been, nor how I got there, but I'm fairly sure I ended up where I was supposed to be.'


	10. 

Chapter 10!! Yeah!! We're finally getting somewhere, you know? I am most definitely in a better mood than when I wrote parts of the last chapter, so hopefully this one will be finished sooner, right? Thanks for your reviews! ^_^

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Chris and Jon slowly walked through the remains of their once-proud school of Combative Arts, Kristen and Cam just outside the parameter in the yard salvaging that which they could. Most everything was destroyed in the dojo and the top floor, leaving them only the clothes they had on their backs and some of Mike and Matt's things since they lived on the ground floor. Parts of the kitchen were still whole, leaving them some rags, pots, and bits of food, but it made very little difference considering all they had lost. 

"The weapons are all now useless," called Matt from where he shuffled through the skeleton of the dojo, a sad from on his face. "Half of them are twisted out of shape from the heat, their temper lines completely ruined..."

"And the other half have been completely disintegrated," finished Matt as he poked his way through a rack that had once held wooden swords and was now nothing more than a pile of ash.

"Let's take what we can still use and put this place up for sale," suggested Jon as he scratched his head, sneezing from the smell of smoke in the air. "What else can we do?"

"And where are we going to put those things?" asked Kristen sarcastically. "Because I doubt some of the Inn keepers will like it if we use our own furniture and shove theirs out in the hall."

"Sell it," said Chris with a shrug as he picked through a drawer that hadn't been destroyed. "I can replace anything we need as far as furniture, and it'll be better than the stuff we had before."

"Where are we going to live, though?" asked Cam in a small voice, looking with wide eyes around the remains of the building that had once been his home. "We can't live here anymore..."

"We'll rent a place for now," said Jon as he shouldered a box of preserves he'd found and brought it out to the yard. "Sir Gwain has the majority of our earnings from this as he handled the money, that should carry us for a few months at least if we're careful."

"And our classes? Our students?" questioned Kristen.

"Suspended until further notice, until we can get back on our feet or we close the school permanently," stated Jon firmly, setting the box at her feet and challenging her with a look to say otherwise. "We have no choice. Where are we going to hold lessons if we don't own our own place? Lessons are going to have to wait until we can figure out our own problems first."

"You're right," admitted Kristen, crossing her arms as she did. "But...that's our only source of income besides Chris's shop, and while he turns out quite a bit of work he's only one man..."

"I can find another job if I have to," said Jon with an agreeing nod. "It's not that hard. I may not like working with horses, but I learned enough last time that I can even resort to that if I have to..."

"Let's go," said Chris as he hauled the last of their things from the dojo and the house, Mike and Matt beside him. "Our rooms at the Green River are still ours until next week, and I'd like to be there with our things stored at that one place before dark."

"I agree," said Kristen, helping them load everything into the cart they'd rented. "I don't know this place well enough to feel safe out at night."

"I think that's it," said Mike as he threw the last box in the cart and hauled himself in as well. "Let's go."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Briteyes slowly limped around Discipline, using a staff that had been provided to more herself around. Most of her bandages gone, her wounds still felt raw at times and she'd been yelled at more than once to take it easy. Wearing an undyed robe Rosethorn had lent her, she glanced around and made sure the other two Dedicates were gone elsewhere before she braided her hair out of her face and headed out the door onto the grounds of Winding Circle itself.

Slowly, she followed the paths, letting a wry grin play on her face as she felt a slight tug on her sleeve. Turning, she raised and eyebrow as she recognized the novice before her. "...Tanya?"

The shorter, some-what strawberry blonde girl grinned and nodded. "Moonstream told me you'd be up soon, but I hadn't expected to see you wandering around on your own this quick, Briteyes."

The performer rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Eh, as long as they don't know, it can't hurt them, right?"

Tanya nodded, smiling shyly as she ducked her head. "Where are you going, though?"

Briteyes sobered up slightly. "I need to find Frostpine," she admitted, averting her eyes as she did. "I need to ask a favor of him..."

"He's at his forge, if you want me to show you the way," offered Tanya slowly, backing up as step as she did.

"I would appreciate it if you could," she replied in surprise. "Don't you need to be somewhere, though??"

"Not yet, I have half a bell before I'm needed in the gardens," replied Tanya with a shrug. "It's this way...." She led Briteyes to the forges and pointed out the right one to her before disappearing as the Hub Clock began to chime. The healing musician slowly tottered her way in, sighing tiredly as she leaned against her staff and studied the man inside.

Compared to her, he was huge. A mountain of a man with a bald crown, the long hair of his beard and what was left on the top of his head flowed down past his shoulders as if defiance of that which he'd already lost. Swinging his hammer a few final times, he set his creation back in the coals and turned to see her standing there in the light of his doorway.

"Hello," he said unsurely as he was unable to see her face. "Can I help you?"

"Hey, um..." She stepped forward a bit so she came into the light of his forge. "You remember me, right?"

His eyes widened in recognition and shock at seeing her alive, standing there, after finding her half dead in field with Rosethorn. "I'll say I do!" he rumbled as he motioned for her to take a seat. Each taking a crate, he went on. "Shurri defend me, I never thought to see you again, though."

"Hm, I could say the same," replied Briteyes with a shrug. "I have a favor to ask, though."

"And that is?"

"The use of your forge and some good iron."

Frostpine was slightly taken aback. "And what would you need those things for?" he asked slowly.

She turned her head towards the fire. "I can't say."

"I see." Frostpine stood slowly, then nodded. "Alright, just for today though. I have some other things I need to take care of anyways." He walked towards the door, looking back at her strangely as he did. "I'll be back in awhile to see what you're doing, ok?"

Briteyes nodded as she put the staff aside and ignored the pain in her leg, drawing back her sleeves so they were out of her way. "Fair enough." She began her work as he left, preparing the metals there to be heated and forming an idea of what she wanted in the back corners of her mind. 

*Six hours later*

Frostpine hesitantly entered his forge, not sure what he'd find there when he did. Looking at his worktable, he found most of the tools cleared away and put back in their rightful place, and two beautiful weapons lying in it's place.

The first was a sword, but one like none other he'd ever seen before. The handle was just long enough to be two handed, but the blade itself was light enough to be used with one and perfectly balanced as well. The end was slightly curved, probably to add force to the blows as well as keep the point from lodging itself in anything, and the edge on it was as keen as the north winds.

The second was a staff weapon, with the strangest end blade he's ever seen. The pole itself was five and a half feet long, the blade extending another foot, but shaped like a 'T' with the top flat par being the top of the weapon. The edges were as sharp as those of the sword, with leather handle grips added along its length at certain intervals.

"Do you like it?" asked Briteyes as she appeared at his side, a small bucket in hands that he saw contained many arrow heads, each gleaming in the dimming light.

"I...you...but..."

"Briteyes!!" Lark stopped at the doorway, a very angered Silven on her shoulder with a look of disapproval in the dedicate's eyes as well. "What are you doing here?? You were supposed to stay in Discipline while Rosethorn and I weren't there..."

"I was just taking care of something," replied Briteyes apologetically as she quickly wrapped up her new 'toys', taking her staff and joining Lark at her side. "I'm sorry if I made you worry. Thank you Frostpine for the use of your forge."

"Of course," he replied quickly out of instinct. "Anytime..." The pair walked away as the performer received a double scolding from the dedicate and the silver rodent at the same time, leaving Frostpine behind and very confused.

She couldn't have made those things on her own...could she?

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Come on, that's not how you swab a deck!" grouched Tanner as Jack labored under his experienced eye, the later doing the chore as quickly as he could while cutting ever corner in the book.

"I don't see you doing any of this work!" Jack groused back. "In fact, if I recall correctly, I'm First Mate, you're just a deck hand, so why am I doing this instead of you??"

Tanner came and stood before Jack, looking him straight in the eyes. "That sort of position does do that, doesn't it? Ok, then, I dare you to take your power back from me and demand my respect."

The two stared each other down, an eerie silence blanketing the deck with even the winds going completely still as a lone seagull cried mournfully over head. Tanner shrugged and walked away as Jack dropped his gaze first, defeat obvious in his stance. Getting a fresh bucket of water, Jack began his chore again, this time taking his time even though Tanner had left him on his own.

He'd take his power back from Tanner someday, he swore...it just wouldn't be today.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Cheeks checked the hooks he'd placed in the ceiling a final time as Jem watched with wide, innocent eyes, waiting patiently for him to finish.

"That should hold," said Cheeks to himself as he picked up the hammock Kaitlin had found at the boy's request. "Are you sure you want one of these? We can always make some sort of a rough cot, if you'd rather have one of those..."

"No, this'll do, thanks," replied Jem shyly as Cheeks finished putting the ropes through the hooks and securing them tightly with knots. "I...I've always liked hammocks better than floor beds...they're more comfortable for some reason..."

"Seems like the only people around here who use hammocks are seamen," replied Cheeks with a nod. "Are your folks from the sea or near the shorelands?"

"Um...I dunno," admitted Jem slowly as he looked out the window to the yard below. "I can't remember my family much..."

"I can remember mine," said Cheeks with a grin. "My older brother...eh, he was alright sometimes. I mean, I didn't hate him or anything, but sometimes it was nice when it was just me and my parents in the house...especially when we had my sixteenth birthday party there. Man, some of the people who came...there were four girls who sat around the kitchen table while the rest of us played this game upstairs and we could hear them the whole time howling with laughter. I swear, if I didn't know any better, I'd say they were on crack. Now I know it's just natural for them to act that way, but still..."

"I've never had a birthday party," whispered Jem as he helped Cheeks place the blankets and pillows in the hammock, hanging there in the corner near Cheeks' bed.

"Really? When's your birthday?"

"Dunno."

"...how old are you, then?"

"Somewheres between 8 and 10 summers, I think," said Jem with a shrug. "I'm sure of that much."

"How do you know that?" asked Cheeks, giving the boy and odd look.

"Can't say," said Jem with an odd shrug. "Just do."

"Ah..."

"Are you done up there already?" asked Brenna as she poked her head in, obviously dressed to go work back in the fields again. "I need your help with some work, Cheeks, and Kaitlin is waiting downstairs to help get Jem some new clothes."

"Yeah, we're finished," said Cheeks as he steered Jem towards the door and down the stairs after the farmer girl. "The twins aren't here though, are they?"

"Nope, not yet anyways."

"Good, I'd rather not climb out a window to avoid them again..."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Randy bowed low as the Master Mage opened the door, the first time he'd allowed someone to disturb him in his study since the incident with Bryanna two days ago. 

"Yes?" he asked imperiously, standing stiff and straight as a board with his hands elegantly hidden in his sleeves. 

"Master Vescom," said Randy gravely, bowing slightly lower. "I wish to apologize for my fellow student's rudeness! She is a rather passionate and emotional female sometimes, sir, I hope you understand that she probably does not know what she's saying..."

Master Vescom considered his words, frowned and was about to reply when he stopped himself and smiled ever so slightly. "Oh, it is all forgiven," he replied in a benevolent tone. "I will even go so far as to give her the passing seals regardless, for she pursued her studies up to that point quiet admirably. However, there is a favor I wish to request in return for this. If you'll come in?" The mage backed up a step and opened the door wider, making room for Randy to enter.

"Of course!" Randy did so immediately, taking a seat across from the Master Vescom's desk as the mage pulled a small box from it, carefully opening the lid to reveal several small, disk-shaped medallions. "Wow...what are they?"

"They're special medallions made to help a mage become more in tune with the magics around them," said Master Vescom lightly. He pulled one from under his shirt. "Even I wear one, see?" The medallions themselves were an iron gray, made of some sort of soft metal with a black flame on the back and a strange character on the front that Randy had never seen before. About and inch across, each hung on a leather tie that could be adjusted to whatever size you wanted it to be. "This one is for you..." 

Randy accepted the medallion and immediately placed it around his neck, hiding it under his tunic as the mage had done. "Thank you, sir," he said in awe of the gift he'd just received. "What favor is it that you wished to ask of me, though?"

"I need you to take these medallions and give one to every mage you meet," said Master Vescom carefully. "Don't hand it to them directly though, just leave it on a table or in their things somewhere right before you leave their presence, ok? Perhaps with a small note saying it was a gift of thanks for their teachings, hm?"

"Why don't you go pass them out?" asked Randy, slightly puzzled.

"It's a game I like to play," said the mage quickly, with a small, quizzical smile. "If they're curious enough, they'll try to pick apart the spell and eventually trace it back to me. I like to see how many of the medallions I send out actually come back to me eventually, ok?"

"Then I will be more than happy to help," said Randy immediately, taking the box and putting the lid back on it before he placed it under his arm.

"One last thing," said the mage as he turned to leave. "Do not tell your companions about it, alright? Especially the healer, I doubt she would...appreciate me having a little fun."

"Of course not," agreed Randy immediately. "They'll never know, I swear."

"Good. Your are such a fine young man, Randy. Surely, one such as yourself with such fine qualities shall go far in this life!"

"I should hope so," replied Randy, puffing his chest out as he swaggered out of the room. The mage just nodded and turned away, hiding the slightly demonic smile that slid across his face for a fraction of a second.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Mike sat in the lower main room of the tavern where they were currently lively, drunk off his butt with Matt beside him lamenting the loss of his students in a rather high-pitched whine. Together, the two of them managed to keep the other from doing something too stupid just because each was too lazy to move, thus the rest of the ground had long since split for the day to take care of other things. 

Jon worked with Chris at his workshop, making his deliveries for him and picking up a bit of cash in tips for being so fast about it. Cabinets, tables, worktops, chairs, doors, shelves, or just plain decorative pieces, each and everyone was taken within minutes to their new owner or to the shipping docks to be sent with Jon using the small cart he'd borrowed for his day's work.

Cam and Kristen were wandering the streets of Summersea, looking for some place for sale that might suit their present needs of a new home and dojo to live and work in. A map and some news they'd gotten from friends shared between them, they went from place to place asking for prices, possible deals, and any way they might shave down the price in the process. 

"What did your guy say?" asked Kristen as they met in front of two warehouses, each going on sale or for rent sometime soon.

"That it's only open for a few more years, and then it's been commissioned to go to this Dancer woman," said Cam with a shrug. "Which is too bad, because it was really almost exactly what we needed..."

"Did they give the dancer a name?" asked Kristen lightly as she looked over the map.

"Yamiz Hebet, or something like that," replied Cam with a shrug. "Well, we couldn't keep it for however long we wanted so I figured it wouldn't do and told him so."

"Yamiz...that name sounds familiar..." Kristen turned and began to walk back down the street with Cam in tow. They turned down another street coming a little closer to the Duke's castle, finding themselves in the local harrier's district.

"Excuse me, miss," said a rough voice behind them, someone tapping lightly on Kristen's shoulders. Both turned quickly, seeing an older gentleman standing there. He was a tall, slender old man with gray hair combed straight back, a long straight nose, and heavy brows. 

"Yes, can I help you, sir?" asked Kristen in confusion, reaching for her belt to make sure everything was still there.

I am Eodar Acalon, and the patriach of the Acalon family," he said a bit gruffly, bowing ever so slightly to her. "You are head of the Combative Arts School down near the Emerald Triangle, are you not?"

"Yes, I am," replied Kristen. "Call me Kristen, and this one of my assistants, Cam."

"Well met, to both of you," he replied. "As to why I've bothered you, it has come to my attention that you and your partners lost both your home and school and are looking for someplace to buy so you can start over again, is that not true?"

"It is," Kristen affirmed lightly. "I'm just curious as to how you knew about it."

"I have contacts whose children attend your school," he said roughly. "However, I have a solution for you that may benefit the both of us. Fighting styles vary among different folk, and while my Zahrah and her husband know much, they do not know all and I believe it would be beneficial to some of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren if they were taught other styles of fighting and weapons use as well."

"That is probably wise of you," said Kristen hesitantly. "But how does that solve my problem?"

"My cousin's family has chosen to leave the house he owned right next to us and head north to join his wife's family there to help them with some harrier work," explained Eodar. "It is large enough to house all of you, plus there is a warehouse to the side that he'd rented out for his business, and is now empty and looking to be bought. The house is yours if you'll agree to teach our family your school of fighting, and do any woodwork with that Trader man who lives with you. The warehouse you'll have to buy yourself, but I think you will have little trouble acquiring it."

Kristen blinked in surprise. "Ah...hm. Excuse me if I seem a bit slow to respond, but I hadn't expected to be approached like this and made an offer like that. If you'll just secure the warehouse for us, I will go back and talk this out with my partners. If they agree, I think it will work."

"Good." Eodar nodded slightly, then turned and began to walk away. "Come by the main house when you wish to redeem this offer."

"We will!" promised Cam, turning to Kristen with a huge smile on his face as he hugged her around the middle. "We're going to have a home again!"

"I know," she replied, giving him a slight smile as she ruffled his hair. "Come on, let's go tell the others."

"Yeah!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Briteyes sat with Silven on her shoulder, putting the final touches on the bow she'd been working on since right after breakfast with the fine piece of yew she'd managed to coax out of the water temple dedicates. In the shade of the small oak tree that had been planted for Ben's body, the revenge-bent performer felt she owed him enough to sit there when she could, vowing never to play again until every last one of his tormentors were dead and she'd returned to confirm here at this tree. 

Her wounds no longer bothered her, though a great deal of the scars remained. Lark and Rosethorn had once again offered to take her to the healers and have them removed, but still she refused, keeping them she claimed as a reminder of what she'd done. 

Carefully bending the fresh yew once more, she carefully shaped it a bit more with the tools Rosethorn had lent her and made sure it was flexible enough for her needs. The shavings she cupped in her hands and then rubbed over the wood, using it to give it a clean, satin-life finish that she couldn't remodel with her knives. Two small tacks and a strip of leather were secured around the center, wrapped tightly to insure it wouldn't come loose while she was shooting it later on. 

Standing, she strung it with the beeswax-rolled cord and held it lightly in her hands. Unstrung, it came up a few inches past her waist, and the pull was so great that when she took one of her not so well done arrow heads already attacked to an fletched rod and shot it at a stump, it buried itself five inches in while having flown all the way across the wide, back garden to reach its target.

#It's very well made# commented Silven as she scampered along Briteyes' arm and ran a paw along its length. #A fine piece. It reminds me of the bow I had back in Tortall.#

"That's the one I modeled it after," admitted Briteyes softly. "My old one would've been too heavy for what I plan to do with this one."

#That is very true. You almost never took the one you actually owned out with you unless you planned on staying on the walls and shooting from there.# Silven crawled back up to her shoulder and stood there, looking at the quiver of arrows that lay there beside them. #Though it could punch straight through even the strongest armor, it was a pain to carry around. Everything is almost finished#

"Yeah. The tools we'll need, at least."

#After that?#

"I train to make sure I remember it all."

#...then what?"

"We go find them." Briteyes turned and walked back towards Discipline, wrapping the bow in a bit of cloth she'd brought with her after bowing once to the tree where her brother's body supposedly rested. "And kill them all."

Silven sighed as she curled her tail around Briteyes' neck. #I know you won't change your mind, but somehow I think you're wrong...#

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Jack slammed Jenny's door open, her looking up from where she sat marking possible future trader routes on a map.

"Can I help you?" she asked flatly as he stood there seething, slamming the door closed behind himself. "And if you do break my door doing that, it comes out of your pay, Jack."

"I am SICK of Tanner ordering me around!" he griped angrily, pounding his fists on her deck so hard that everything on top shook from the shock. "Can't you do something?! Say something to him about it?!"

"What, you want me to stand up for you?" asked Jenny with a half-amused smile on her face.

"Yeah..." Jack rolled his eyes. "Come on, don't give me that, Jen. I know all you have to do is say the word or smack him over the head or something and he'll back right off..."

"You seriously want me to take over this battle for you?" asked Jenny, crossing her arms a she leaned back in her chair. "You want me, a FEMALE, to take care of something that you should be able to easily and quickly handle as the supposedly superior MALE?"

"I never said that!" ground Jack as he glared daggers of death at her. "I just want you to tell him to back off! That's your job, isn't it _Captain? _I thought Captains were supposed to promote respect and equality in a crew."

"My job is to get us safely from one port to another, get a good profit and equally divide the goods between all who help in the process. Not to take care of personal squabbles you might have," said Jenny with a shrug. "Toughed up, Jack, for goodness sake. The work is good for you, and if you really want him to stop why don't you exert the supposed authority you have over him as First Mate?"

"Hey, I do my share of the work, I shouldn't have to do other's too!" yelled Jack, leaning over the table at her so he was right in her face. "Now you're going to do something about this problem right now!!"

Jenny stood slowly, straightening her tunic as she did with a very calm, cool, and collected look on her face. "First off," she said in a low voice. "I am the Captain here, you are the First Mate, and you will accept my authority over you because I can and will beat you down if you don't with your own staff. And if you try and fight back, there's plenty of help here to make sure the beating happens regardless. Second, you will never speak like that to me again if you wish to stay as First Mate. Or for that matter, a member of this crew. I wouldn't mind in the least bit throwing you overboard the next port we et to and never letting you back on again! Third, I refuse to help you because it's not my problem and I shouldn't have to get involved with your personal spats all the friggin time. Now leave."

Jack stood there for a moment with his mouth opening and closing like a gaping fish, eyes bugged out ever so slightly in disbelief. Finally, he snapped his mouth firmly shut and stomped out, leaving the door swinging open behind him. Jenny just smirked, and shrugged, going back to work and leaving him to fume.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kaitlin held the shirt up to Jem and then ordered him to put it on, having him hold out his arms once it was on and marking off the sleeves so she could cut them down to size. Using a pair of scissors, she quickly chopped off the extra fabric and sewed in the new hem lines. 

"Awww...aren't you just adorable!!" she squealed as she clapped her hands together. "Ok, now let's do another one!"

"Another?" asked Jem in surprised. "But I already got two new outfits!"

"We don't do the laundry every day here, hun," said Kaitlin with a wink. "You're going to need more than that if you're going to live with us."

"Oh...ok...if you're sure it's not a problem..." 

"None at all!!" Kaitlin happily began to rummage through another one of the crates. "In fact, it's like playing dress up with a life size doll. Except your a lot more fun than any doll I used to have as a little kid. Ok, go back there and put these pants and shirt on, they'd go really well with that vest I found earlier...."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, if only Patch were entirely tangible like you were, I would be the happiest person alive..." sighed Kaitlin as she paused for a moment in dreamland, and then went right back to work. Pulling out a pair of low  boots, she cried out in joy before tossing them behind the screen as well. "And try those too, if they fit then we don't have to go buy you pair from the tanners."

"If they don't, I c'n just wear them sandals you found," commented the boy slowly. "That'd be fine with me."

"Not in winter, no," replied Kaitlin with a firm shake of her head. "Nope, nope, nope. Not good at all. We still have mild winters, being this far south, but I will not have you going about with blue toesies because we agreed that sandals would do in the middle of winter."

"Um...ok...?"

"Get over here on the box," she instructed as he came out, smoothing his new clothes with nervous hands. "Come on, now, I swear I don't bite..." Under her breath, she added with a teasing grin. "Much."

He stood there wearing breeches that were tucked in the boots that were on his feet, a bit big but would give him room to grow. The shirt sleeves were a little long, too, but looked fine rolled up a few times and then she wouldn't have to get a new one when he grew later on. 

Handing him the leather vest, the boy shrugged in on slowly to complete his outfit. He looked like any other farm boy hereabouts whose family had enough money to let him dress decently, but not so much that he didn't do his own share of work around the farm. 

"Perfect," sighed Kaitlin, stars in her eyes before she handed him a few more things and shooed him out the door with all this clothes back towards Cheeks' room that he now shared with him. "Now go and put those things up like a good boy and then find Brenna-kins and ask her what she wants you to do first, ok?"

"Ok..." he skittered off, disappearing up the stairs as she began to repack the clothes she hadn't used and pile up the scraps of fabric she'd had to cut off. 

"Hm...strange kid...but then we all are so I think he'll fit in just fine..."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia watched in amusement as Randy darted into the barn, a small box under one arm and some saddle bags in the other as they were packing to leave the next morning. 

"Hiding something?" she asked from where she was grooming her own mount, her bags all packed and ready to go beside it.

"AH!!" Randy jumped and looked around, spotting her in the corner and sighing in relief. "Oh...it's just you..."

"Expecting the boogie man or something?" asked Olivia as she finished currying the fine beast and began to comb out her mane and tail. "What's with the box? I'm sure you didn't have it when we got here."

Randy winced. "Uh...it's nothing, really..."

"If it's nothing, then there's no reason to tell me what it is," said Olivia pertly. "Now come on, you've got me curious now."

"Eh...well..." Randy scratched his head as he set the saddle bags down beside his mare in the next stall over. "Only if you promise not to tell Bry."

"Sure, whatever, now what is it?"

Randy opened it and pulled out one of the medallions. "See? They're these magical awareness medallions Master Vescom gave to me with instructions to give one to each mage we meet from here on until they're all gone. It's a game he plays or something, he said. And he asked me to help him out since he was nice enough to forgive Bryanna and give her the seal though she didn't finish her training."

"Is that all they are?" asked Olivia as she studied it with her eyes, some instinct telling her not to probe it with her magic.

"Yeah, that's what Master Vescom said anyways..." Randy held it out to her more with a grin on his face. "You want one? I got one, and it has helped so much in sensing magic around me..."

"Uh..." Olivia looked at it, then shook her head. "No. No, I think I'll be fine without it." She felt something inside herself twinge as she backed away, the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding coming out in a soft rush of air.

"Are you sure?" asked Randy, pausing before he put it back in the box. "It could come in handy later on."

She shook her head quickly. "Yeah, I don't want it. Thanks, though." Olivia turned back to her work, feeling as if she'd narrowly avoided something. Almost like some disaster of 'cataclysmic proportions', to be cliche. But it was just a simple medallion...wasn't it?

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Jon, Mike, and Matt sat together in the wagon they'd rented again, hauling their things from storage into the house Eodar Acalon had offered them with the warehouse next door. It had taken a week longer since Kristen had told them of her talk with him to get the arrangements set, the furniture they'd need made by Chris, and the warehouse bought with a loan from Kristen's noble admirer.

"Do we have to do this today?" asked Mike in a whiney voice as he lay in the back sprawled over some tied down crates. His head ached and the light made his eyes water, courtesy of the large amounts of ale he'd consumed the night before in celebration of finding a home.

"Yeah, she was right that the sooner we get the school opened again, the sooner we can start making money," said Matt with a shrug. 

"It doesn't matter to me, as long as we come out with enough cash to live off of in the end," said Jon from up front where he drove the horses through the crowded streets of Summersea. "Going broke is not a good thing around here, you know."

"Yeah, I know..."

Kristen and Cam, who were at the house with Chris, had the kitchen unpacked and set already and were now looking around while waiting for the rest of their things inside.

"Man, it is a little smaller," observed Cam with a gulp. "You think we're all gonna fit alright?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine," replied Chris with a light clap on the boy's shoulder. "It's not like we're all here all the time. I only see this place early morning and late at night unless I'm taking a day off for rest once a week, and I usually spend those days out of the house looking at other woodworker's goods so I can learn more stuff to make."

"That is true."

The house itself was similar to the last one, in that it was two stories and the lower floor was made of stone. The upper was also, this time, which made Kristen very happy indeed. There was a front courtyard surrounded by a stone wall, marking the edges of their yard quite nicely. There was not backyard this time, but the front was large enough to hold a class there if they had to, so they didn't worry about it. 

The house itself had a front door and a side entrance, and if you went in either one it opened directly into the kitchen which was the largest room of the house. Roomy and comfortable, the fireplace was huge and went right up the center of the house so all the rooms were warmed when it there was a roaring fire inside. Right beside the fireplace there was a ladder going up to a hallway and four rooms that connect to it, being where Kristen, Cam, Chris, and Jon would have their rooms again.

Matt and Mike had their rooms off the hallway beside the ladder, four rooms there with two being their bedrooms, one a washroom, and the last a sitting room. The whole thing was nicely furnished with beds, tables, chairs, and such. 

The warehouse next door was as large as their last had been, divided in half the same way the other had been but with no fireplace this time. Jon had already begun to draw up plans for the new aerial course he would build on one side for his advanced class, the ceiling even higher than before with many thick beams to work off of crisscrossing along the top.  

Chris had plans as well, to add an overhang that would extend from the house side entrance to the warehouse beside it, cutting through the stonewall between them so they could travel between the two without having to go around into the street.

Once their equipment was replaced and they had their classes back in order again, they would be set for business! Now all they could do was settle in and hope the business would come back as it had been before...

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Ben sat silently on the bed with some strips of bandages beside him and some healing goop the household doctor had give him, carefully wrapping each finger on his left and right hand with hopes that it would do it's work in time for him to play again that night with no blood pouring from his fingers to clog the holes.

The silver flute he'd been given, while it had a sweeter, more trill tone, was harder to play because the holes were more sharply edged and slightly larger as well. The calluses he'd gained from his old flute were all useless in this case, as he had to use different parts of his fingers to play. 

Nana stood to the side, using hot irons fresh from the fire in his room to smooth out his new uniform that he wore every time he played, being dressed in regular servant's rags the rest of the time. 

"Are you certain you must play tonight, young'un?" asked Nana as she finished her task, looking worriedly at his blood-stained, bandaged fingers.

"The Master said he was having guests," replied Ben with a slight shrug. "I can't not go if he is, that would supposedly 'shame' the Master for not having entertainment present, and then I'd get beaten later on. Better to kill my fingers and spare my body a few more bruises, right?"

"I suppose," replied Nana with a sigh. "He works you to the bone, as he does all of us, but one would think that since you're his latest 'amusement' he'd take better care of you..."

"I'm fine, he's not working me that hard," replied Ben, trying to act brave and noble, though she only had to poke him in the side where he'd been hit earlier by one of the guards for being late to remind him that it was not true. "Well...maybe he is, but I'm still alive, aren't it?"

"If you had any brains in that head of yours, you'd slack off when you could like the rest of us do to keep yourself alive," scolded Nana lightly. "Only those who do so live long enough to warn others in the future. It's not often this place gets new help, and until then we have to pick up the slack for those who worked themselves to death in a few months time."

"How long have you been here Nana?" asked Ben curiously, looking up from his fingers to stare at her back.

"A very long, long time," she replied, pausing her work for a moment to look at him sadly. "For as long as I can remember, actually. My mother and father worked for his grandfather, and then his father, many years ago. I was born into this life, and it never mattered to me what it was until the Master's father died and he became in charge. Since then, no one has lived long enough to have children and raise them as servants as well within this household. I am one of the few old ones who remember before his time of cruelty, and harshness. Me he will keep alive until I die a natural death. Until then..." She sighed and looked at her own hands. "I work, and try to save the few I can like you who don't know enough not to work themselves into oblivion like he asks us to."

"Oh...." Ben got up and wrapped his arms around her waist, getting a smile from her as he gave her one of his own. "Well, I'm glad you're here to help me."

"I'm glad I am too." She glanced up as she heard others moving in the hallway outside. "Get moving, now, you have to go help with the unloading the deliveries today."

Ben ducked his head as he let her go and jogged out the door. "Yes, ma'am!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Some First Mate you are," chided Tanner as he took the ropes from Jack and tied them for him in half the time it would have taken usually. "Can't even do a sheep shank without thinking about it."

Jack just felt himself flush slightly as Tanner walked on, taking over as he tested the winds, and after finding their Nymph wasn't inclined at that point to change them for him had Trev and Tyler help him change the sails to make the best of the breeze they did have. 

"Hey, the least you can do is make yourself useful down there and grab this rope for me!" yelled Tanner as he dropped the rope straight down near Jack's head. The young man jumped back and picked it up when it had finished falling.

"Where do you want it tied?" he called back in resignation.

"I just want you to hold it steady until I get down there to tie it myself!" Tanner called back jeeringly. "I let you do it, and Shurri defend me, we'll be waiting until the next full moon for it to be done!"

"Why you son of a- just tell me where you want it, Tanner!!" yelled Jack, his temper getting the best of him. Tanner dropped down beside him, roughly taking the rope from his hands.

"No."

That's when it happened. Jack lunged forward and caught Tanner right across the face with a left hook. 

"Now," said Jack as he leaned over Tanner from where he'd fallen in surprise on the deck. "Let me tell you exactly what I think of you and your high handed ways." With that he began to go down the list of every insult, every slur, every single obscenity he'd ever learned both here and back home in America. Having gone through both lists, it was a good ten minutes before he finished and when he did Tanner, Tyler, and Trev sat there staring at him in amazement.

"I think he broke Uncle Gaven's old record," commented Tyler as he looked up from the list he'd made of words he hadn't known that Jack said and planned to use later on.

"Thank you, First Mate, for your opinion of me," said Tanner with a rueful smile as he nodded his head more respectfully than normal, rubbing his jaw which was still rather sore from the punch. "But you could have just summed it up and said I was being an insolent jerk."

Jack smiled pleasantly. "But, oh, doing it my way felt so much better."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Hey, Cheeks?" asked Rupal as she stuck her head in the kitchen where Cheeks and boy sat sharpening some knives for Kaitlin. "Do you need Jem right now or can I borrow him for awhile?"

"I guess, if you need him he's yours," replied Cheeks as Jem looked between the two, then stood as Cheeks made a shooing motion with his hands and followed Rupal back up stairs and then up the ladder into the attic itself. "Just have him back to me by after lunch! Bren's got something she wants us to do!"

"Ok!"

"What we doin' up here?" asked Jem as he sneezed from the dust that had accumulated everywhere. "Libby said -ACHOO- that we don't need to get a count of our summer clothes for awhile yet." *sniffles*

"We're not here for the clothes, silly," said Rupal in her usual, soft voice. "That's Kaitlin's job, not mine. We're here for the books..." She swung a curtain that hung across one back corner away showing piles of leather-bound books that were so coated in dust they looked like they'd been there for centuries without being disturbed.

"Books?" Jem looked them over, carefully picking one up and examining it closely as Rupal pulled another curtain away from the window and flooded the large space with the mid-morning sun. "Wow...I've seen them before but never those close...what's all this marking stuff in it?"

"What markings?" Rupal came and looked over his shoulder, a small smile on her face. "You mean the writing? Those are words, silly. Don't you know how to read words?"

"Read? What, you talkin' about actually understanding what this squiggle things mean?" Jem gave her a confused look. "I thought only mages 'n' bags understood this kind of stuff."

"Well, I'm not a mage or a bag, whatever that is, and I understand it just fine," replied Rupal with a shrug. "Here, let me show you..." She opened the book he was holding on an herbal testament and began to read from one of the pages. "While willows bark can be used to reduce fever and pain, it cannot be used in large doses over extended periods of time or else it might induce sever stomach pains or intestinal damage in the patient..."

"Man...could you teach me to read?" asked Jem with a sparkle in his eyes. 

"Sure," replied Rupal as she smiled slowly. "Come on, though, we need to sort these out...we're keeping the ones we might need around here and selling or trading the rest. No use letting them take up valuable space that could be used to store useful things, right?"

"I guess not..."

"Then let's get to it."

Together, they went through each and every volume, setting them into three piles of useful, useless, and just plain valuable. Some of them seemed to be old, ancient texts of sorts in languages she didn't understand, and Rupal figured if it was put in a text that no ordinary person could read, then there must be something special about it. 

Eventually, when every last book had been looked at, Rupal and Jem sat side by side in the dusty, gloomy room and stared at the stacks of books before them.

"Now what?" asked Jem after a few moments of silence.

"Now..." Rupal pulled out a dust rag, some paper, and a charcoal stick. "We dust off the shelves, alphabetize the ones we want to keep, and make a list of them all!! And we're going to get it done before lunch, too."

Jem looked out the window, they had less than an hour before noon, and then at her like she was insane. "You're pulling my leg, right?"

"...um, no?"

"Oi..."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna rode stolidly on one side and Randy stiffly on the other, Olivia stuck between the two as they traveled farther on towards their next teacher. It had been three days since they'd left, and nothing had changed.

Bryanna still refused to talk to Randy, Randy still refused to acknowledge her, Bryanna was unaware still of the medallions he carried with him and Olivia hadn't thought it important enough to impart the information to her. Olivia placed message runner between the two and loathed every moment of it, and while she did enjoy the piece and quiet sometimes, she could definitely do without the glares that continued to fly overhead between the two parties. 

In short, no one was in a good mood, everything seemed to be going wrong at times, and all they could do was hope that mage boy who was in charge would take pity on them and help change their luck.

Fat chance.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Mike chuckled quietly to himself as he snuck along the halls of the new house, up the ladder to the second floor and then to Cam's room. Slipping inside, he quickly set the almost full bucket of water he'd brought with him on the floor, getting a chair and bringing the bucket up with him to set above the frame of the door with the door itself cracked open ever so slightly for support. 

Putting the chair back in its place, he went to the open window and climbed out it, dropping lightly on the roof below. Going a few steps over, he used the trellis to then work his way to the higher roof above the second story rooms, walking over the top as it was hardly steep at all and he probably could have jumped from it to either neighbor's house or even to the store behind them across the alley way. Dropping instead to the low roof on the other side, he used the trellis there to clamber into Jon's room where he was supposed to be sorting through some of the crates there for clothes of his that were missing.

Cam suddenly came zipping up the stairs and slipped into his room, Mike waiting for the fateful splash that would indicate his plan had worked....Cam suddenly popped back into the room, completely dry with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Mike?" he asked, no noticing the rather perturbed look on the young man's face. "Could you tell Kristen we were right about the crate she's carrying?"

"Uh...sure..." The boy zipped off again, this time down the ladder and out the side door on whatever errand he'd been told to run now. Mike got up and slipped back out in the hall, checking Cam's room's door. 

The bucket was still set and ready to go, and as he hoped there might be another chance to get the brat later on, he left it there and went back to work looking through the crates. There was going to be hell to pay if he didn't find his purple vest soon...

"Mike, did Cam say anything to you before he ran off?" asked Kristen as she stood there panting in the doorway, a huge crate in her arms. 

"Yeah, that whatever it is you agreed on, it was right," he replied lightly.

"Oh...ok." She walked on by, stopping a few steps later. "Hey Mike, can you come get this door for me?"

"Sure..." He got up, then paused. "Who's door is it?"

"Cam's."

Mike's eyes got very, very big. "Um...why don't you leave it out there and I'll move it in, ok? I swear I won't open it..."

"Yeah, just like you wouldn't ever put a roach in Libby's locker or a nest of spiders in Matt's stuff," retorted Kristen. He could hear her shifting the crate in her hands. "Now, Matt, before I drop it..."

"Just leave it there and I'll take care of it."

"No, you'll do something to it!"

"Will not!"

"Matt...fine, I'll manage it myself."

"Wait, no-!!"

*SPLOOSH*

*THUMP*

Mike stood there from where he'd dashed into the hall, freezing at the sight of Kristen standing there soaked to the bone and with the crate dropped at her feet. The bucket lay beside her, from the bruise quickly forming on her shoulder it had done its job well.

"Mike," ground Kristen through her teeth.

"..yes?" he squeaked. "I swear, it wasn't supposed to hit you...!!"

Kristen's eye twitched as she gazed rather vengefully at him. "But it did."

"Ah...bye!" Mike took off back into the room, leaping out the window headfirst with Kristen in hot pursuit. Stopping at the window, she watched as he rolled off the roof and down into the plants below, laying there twitching painfully as she just smirked.

That made it worth it. Almost. She'd find a way to pay it back and soon...

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Lark and Rosethorn sat across from each other at the kitchen table, each with a worried expression as the garden dedicate gently scratched the silver squirrel's back who was asleep on her shoulder. 

"She's still up there," murmured Lark as she cast her eyes upwards, towards the roof. "An amazing recovering, even for one so young..."

"Something's not right, it's like she's being pushed towards this...fate," grumbled Rosethorn. "I do not like it. She shouldn't leave."

"I know, Rosie," replied Lark as she slowly stood. "I will go talk with her. Hopefully put some sense in that brain of hers. If not, though..." She shrugged. "We cannot force her to stay if she does not wish to, and I'd rather send her off prepared for that which she's set herself to do rather than allow her to leave with nothing and scrounge what she can from others before she does the deed."

"It is wrong to take lives needlessly," sighed Rosethorn. "Even in revenge."

"Rosethorn..." Lark caught Rosethorn's eyes and held them steady. "Could you honesty say that if someone had come and murdered one of your students while they were under your care and you were given the chance to repay that, that you wouldn't take it in a heartbeat?"

Rosethorn didn't reply, and Lark ascended the stairs to the top floor, and then through the attic to the roof after giving her dearest friend one last look. Finding the door open, she slowly crept through and watched as Briteyes finished another kata with her sword in the shining moonlight.

Sweat practically dripped from her, she'd been at it since it was cool enough to work like this hours ago before the sun set and now the moon was past its apex in the sky. Hair bound tight in a thick braid that fell to her waist, she'd rid herself of all silver ornamentations and her old clothes, preferring instead to wear some old leathers she'd found in the attic a few days ago. Right now, most of it was off and she was left with some pants and a loose shirt, both damp from her exertions. 

Sitting down by the ledge, the young woman silently accepted the ladle from the bucket Lark had brought with her and drank it down in one draught, taking the second and dumping it over her head. The sword she had resheathed and laid to the side, sitting beside Lark with an expectant look on her face. 

"Are you sure you can't tell me how you know all this?" asked Lark as she held her hands out, taking the blade Briteyes offered to her and inspecting it closely. "It is beautiful craftsmanship, even I can see that. But I do not like the purpose which such a beautiful work of art has been given..."

"I am going, whether or not you will help me," said Briteyes simply, as if that was all there was too it.

"Your hands are clean, though," argued Lark, "They have no blood on them, why start now?"

Briteyes gave her a sad smile. "You think that I know how to forge weapons, how to use them, how to maintain them, yet I've never killed before? Sometimes I wish it were true, but it is not..."

Lark looked surprised. "You...?"

Briteyes paused. "I cannot tell you," she whispered after a few moments of silence. "So please, don't ask me. I will leave as soon as I am ready, and then return again once the deed is done. That's the best I can promise, that I will return again someday..."

"You are always welcome here, love," said Lark as she gave the young woman a hug, drawing her in to her arms gently. "Though you've never been our student...its' nice, having one like you around. We will both miss you, though it would be like pulling teeth to get Rosie to admit it...and she'll never forgive you if you get yourself killed after putting all that effort into keeping you alive."

Briteyes laughed, then nodded. "That's one thing I can promise," she said, "I will come back alive. No dying, I promise."

"Good. Now, let's go inside before you catch a cold being all wet up here in the breeze like this," said Lark as she swung her feet back down into the attic. "You need a bath, and so do Rosie and I, so we might as well go together."

The performer turned fighter sighed and nodded. She was going to miss this place while she was gone...but she had to go. Revenge demanded she did.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Everyone sat around the table in the galley, digging into the food everyone had pitched in to prepare. Fresh bread, a fine salted fish stew with vegetables chopped up in it, some berry pudding Jenny had managed to throw together, and of course a steaming hot pie waiting for dessert. 

Jenny sat at the head of the table with it's benches that were nailed down to the floor, Jack across from her at the other end. Trev and Tanner sat on one side and Gwen and Tyler on the other, Nicole sitting by Jenny's hand at her own private table with her own little utensils for her to eat with. Everything, including her fork, spoon, knife, plates, and cup she had made herself and had to wash herself after every meal. No one else could get their fingers into the cracks like they could their own table ware, so it was up to her.

The food was passed around the table, Nicole cutting or spooning bits off of whatever Jenny took to feed herself. The bread she just tore off a hunk the size of her fist that was the size of a crumb to everyone else. The soup she dipped her bowl in and then had Jenny pick out some fish and carrots so she could cut off bits for herself. The size of a hunk of fish was the same size as her bowl, so she had to cut it down somehow. The pudding she just spooned part of the edges off onto her own plate. Though she wished the seeds weren't so big, she had to eat around them because her teeth couldn't bite through them anymore, they were the size of her own teeth! The pie, well, there she just sat by the pan after everyone got what they wanted and took the bits of crust left over and dipped it in the apple and filling that remained, which was more than enough to make a pie her size. 

"I have to say, it's nice only having to plan for six and knowing our seventh crew member won't even possibly finish the remains of the meal on her own," commented Jenny as she winked at Nicole.

"Are you teasing me about my size?" demanded Nicole as she shook her finger at Jenny. "Beware the power of the nymph!!"

"Who me?? Never..." Jenny just went back to eating with a devilish grin on her face. The brother's still didn't know what to think when she looked like that, so they generally avoided her and hoped for the best.

Gwen suddenly dropped a cup over Nicole, effectively trapping her inside. "Be a good little nymph, now, and behave!!"

Nicole managed to lift the cup off of herself with a tuft of wind and glared. "I was behaving!!"

"Uh huh, sure...that's what they all say..."

"What did I do?!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Libby allowed Jem to help her carry all the cages out of her room down to the barn, only because he liked her bunnies so much and they seemed to love him back. She'd only started with a few, but since then (do to the bunnies nature to procreate rather quickly) had more than quadrupled in number and if she kept tripping over the cages she'd built in the dark, she was going to break them and squish a bunny by accident one night. She didn't want that to happen!

"So, what are we buildin'?" asked Jem as he set the last of the cages down as carefully as he could, scratching the cute little fuzzy creates inside affectionately before straightening up completely.

"We're gonna build them something like a hutch," replied Libby with a grin. "So they can all live together and be one big happy bunny family!!"

Jem looked at her, then at the bunnies, and back at her again. "How big is this going to be??"

Libby pointed to the three stalls she'd torn down in the barn. "That big."

"Ok, that makes sense...are you going to divide them up any?"

"What do you mean?" Libby cocked her head to the side in confusion.

Jem coughed lightly. "You know, like...put the males in one and the females in the other and all the little kiddies together away from them...?"

"No way!!" Libby grinned as she winked at him. "It's a free love society in the bunny world, man!!"

"Right..."

"Let's get to work!!"

Dragging boards, nailing them together, putting a roof on one side so they could sit in the shade, creating a 'potty place' as Libby called it, and food and water troughs that they'd have to fill daily, it was many hours later before they finished and sat there together on the ground while the bunnies inspected their new home.

"It seems big for only a few of them..." commented Jem lightly. "But I know in'a month or three we'll pro'lly have to make it even bigger!"

"No, if it gets to that point we'll start selling some of them," stated Libby firmly. "All the bunnies can go except the original four or so, they're the only ones I really care about!"

Jem looked at the mass of bunnies who were now hopping all over each in a frenzied excitement. "And how you do know which is which?"

Libby gave him her cutest smile. "I just know. I'm special like that, because I've been granted special bunny woman powers!! FEAR ME!!"

The poor boy crept from the barn as she stood there laughing insanely, dancing around her bunnies to no end. "Help...!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna dragged herself out of bed as the sun slowly rose over the horizon, feeling her stomach turn over again though she hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day before and her head buzz fuzzily. They had found another teacher, this time an older black woman who was so dark she almost seemed blue at times. Her eyes had been large and kind, but even her patience with them had been worn past thin as nothing seemed to work an all their spells went awry. 

It had been a simple course in book-work spells, using common ingredients with a touch of magic to get the desired effects of another mage's power. It should have only taken a few days to complete, but they'd been there for more than a week before she passed them just to get them to leave and supposedly taking the bad luck they carried with them away.

Randy had left behind a medallion as planned, slipping it in her belt pouch right before riding off with the girls. Though he wasn't feeling to well himself, and Olivia was even worse. Everything seemed fuzzy and surreal at times, others it was just a dull ache in the back of their heads, but one thing was for sure their magic had gone limp and still, and it took great amounts of energy to get it to do the simplest of things. The funny thing was, the larger the work the less energy it took and thus they confined all their magic using to the large works they would normally never thing to use on a regular basis. 

Riding together, Randy felt himself immediately perk up again, Olivia getting a little color back in her face and becoming more amiable the farther away they got, though Bryanna showed little or no improvement at all.

"Are you sure you don't want to stop and let a Senior Healer look at you?" asked Olivia quietly for the tenth time since they'd left. "They might catch something you've missed...."

"I'm not actually sick, I can tell you that!" argued Bryanna crossly. "If I were, I'd know, ok?? Whatever it is that's gotten to me, it has nothing to do with my physical self..."

"It seems to affect it, though," pointed out Olivia slowly. "It can't hurt to let them have a look..."

"I said no!"

"Alright alright, don't get your pants in a knot..."

"Hmph."

"Leave the weak girl alone," said Randy lightly. "Everyone knows doctors are their own worst patients. She's probably just got a cold and can't believe she let her guard down so she's refusing to heal herself as 'punishment' or something."

"Can you tell the idiot over there he has no clue what he's talking about, and if I had a cold he'd have caught it himself by now if I hadn't healed myself of it!" growled Bryanna, continuing to face forward though her eyes swan occasionally.

"Randy, Bry said..."

"Olivia, would you be so kind as to inform the weakling healer that only fools and morons allow others to get rises out of them like that," cut in Randy sharply. 

Olivia shut her mouth and glared at them both, getting the desired effect of them both shutting up and shirking in their saddles slightly. Once again, the ice-like look of the Ice Queen saves the day...or at least her own sanity...

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Ben lay there crying in his sleep, shadows of past and present running together to create a nightmare that held him trapped in its warped clutches. Writhing until the covers where so twisted about himself he could barely move, he dreamed something was holding him there, forcing him to watch scene after scene...moment after moment of his life with his sister...how many times now did he wish he'd been nicer? That he'd said something to her? Been there for her like she'd been for him?? Regrets, so very, very many heaped on such a very, very young head...

Nana crept into the room and sat down next to him on the bed, slowly helping him untangle himself as he began to wake from her gentle, but persistent shake. "Easy, young'un..." she murmured deep in her throat. "It is only me, Nana...rest easy, it was only a dream..."

"I want her back," he whispered hoarsely as the tears continued to fall down his face. "I'd give anything in the world just to see her again...that none of this had ever happened...!!"

"You cannot change was has happened, lad, you must accept it and move on," whispered Nana as she ran a gnarled, but strong hand through his hair. "We all have our regrets...bits of the past we wish we could change...but all we can do is try to mend them with the days we have left allotted to us."

"Do you think she's watching me?" he asked softly. "Looking over me from heaven, like an angel?"

"Lad, I don't know what this heaven of yours is," replied Nana slowly. "Nor do I know what an angel is, but if what you have told me is true then yes. I would say so, most likely."

"I wonder if she misses me?" whispered Ben. "Like I miss her. If she's sad when I'm sad or if she ever cries like I do...I never saw her cry before, though I ran to her several times when Kevin beat me up crying..."

"Even the strong occasionally shed tears, have they any heart at all," sighed Nana. "She'd be a fool not to miss you, and I bet every she sees you cry she cries too, wishing she could be here to comfort you as I am now..."

"I...want her here...too..." Ben slowly drifted back off to sleep, his dreams more peaceful this time as Nana covered him with his blankets again and left the room, slipping back into her own to catch a few more hours of sleep before the dawn. He was such a sweet lad, and so broken inside. But someday, he would heal...the wound would close over and leave nothing but a scar in its place...someday.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Two chapters in a less than a week. ^_^ I'd say that's rather impressive, how about you? Well, you'd better think it was!! : P Hope you enjoyed it, much more to happen in the next chapter so please review and stay tuned for Chapter 11 of Summersea Saga!!

~Crosseyedbutterfly~

'Dance like there's no tomorrow, because for all you know there may not be.'


	11. 

Yes, I know it's been a while. Longer than I wanted, but something called Senior Exit and then visiting grandparents and THEN Marching Band came up and it just sort of went down hill from there...x.x Anywho, here's your chapter 11, enjoy!

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Jenny spoke with the Captain of the docks as the rest of her crew spread out through the market place to scout out new goods they might consider trading for. Once their docking space was rested for a week, and they were registered like all the other ships in the harbor Jenny joined them as well, meeting up with Tanner first by the smithies.

Inspecting some iron goods with a practiced, but masked eye he commented to her just loud enough that the owner might hear that hopefully they'd find some real iron work soon or their journey would be a waste. Jenny, who had observed the process many times before by now, just shrugged and stated that she would be about assisting the others if he came across anything that she might like.

The smith, as wary as the rest of the _kaqs_ they dealt with as Traders, approached Tanner as she left, his hopes of selling some of his finer pieces of work obviously in mind as he did. Jenny just smiled to herself and walked on, finding Gwen and Nicole up to their elbows in fine silks and glasswork. With the young nymph there to spot flaws in the weave that might've otherwise been hidden, and the youngest member of their crew having learned a great deal about glass from Trevor during many of their talks around the kitchen fire at night they were both on their way (with Gwen doing all the talking while Nicole hid in the background) to making great deals to the benefit of their next shipping run. 

Tyler was, as usual, with Trevor as they inspected some raw materials like metal ores and roughly hewn planks of wood that they might use to not only trade for other goods in areas that were short of such things but to also repair their ship. 

Going on, she went to the smallest section of the market, the one that was devoted solely to mages and the one she usually worked on her own. Having been taught the rituals and rights of trade from Tanner and Trevor, she began her work there in finding any source of mage goods that was in a great quantity for a cheap price that they could sell elsewhere for a higher price due to its scarcity there. Sorting through the goods with a practiced eye, she quickly marked a few things in her mind that might do and headed back for the ship at a leisurely pace, meeting up with Nicole, Gwen, and Tanner along the way. 

"And how was your first search?" asked Tanner respectfully as he came up beside her, a half a smile on his face that spoke of triumph. 

"Good enough, I'll head back in tomorrow with my usual box of gifts and compliments to see how much I can shave off the price before figuring what we can afford to get and how much of it we can hold," replied Jenny with a half smile of her own and a shrug. "I think this run will be most profitable for us, though."

"I should hope so," snorted Tyler as he came up behind them, nimbly skipping through them and then turning around so he was walking backwards in front of them. "After that cheat from last time...could I go back and wring his neck, by the Trader gods I would!"

"Enough," said Tanner flatly, giving Tyler a look that quickly made the boy duck his head in shame and fall back in behind them. In Tradertalk, he added, "Don't speak like that, Tyler! You've been raised better than to do such a thing as that."

"Yes, sir," replied Tyler in their native tongue, Trevor giving the younger boy a supportive pat on the shoulder before he joined Jenny on his other side and Gwen fell back to walk with the younger boy. 

"None the less, we'll make up for it here," he said simply, still in Tradertalk, as he walked along with a light spring in his step. "The wood is of better quality than I'd hoped...there will be enough to trade and to reinforce a few weaker spots in our hull."

"Which is very good, considering I don't feel like sinking out in the middle of the ocean anytime soon," Jenny added wryly, crossing her arms with her staff cradled in the crook of her elbow so it stuck up over her left shoulder. 

"Yes, very good indeed," admitted Trevor with his usual grin. "Come on, I believe someone left us a pie warming in the kitchen and I'm getting rather hungry..."

"Hey, I get first dibs 'cuz I made it," cut in Gwen with a happy look on her face. 

"You made the crust," Jenny corrected her. "I made the filling."

"Ok, then...we both get first dibs!"

Jenny glanced over at Gwen and slowly raised and eyebrow. "Two people can have first dib?"

"...they can now!" Gwen went on ahead, skipping happily with Tyler in her wake.

"Right..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"You, come with me," said Brenna as she finished eating breakfast, waving at Jem who was just finished inhaling his porridge with milk and honey as well. "I'm going to need him most of today sorting the seeds...any one object to that?"

"I'm sharpening the axes and knives, so I'm good," said Cheeks with a shrug, getting up and gathering his things to take to the sink. 

"I'm just doing the usual animal chore things," added Libby from where she sat loitering over a cup of hot coffee.

"And I'm heading out with the twins, so I won't need him," called Kaitlin from the kitchen where she finished cleaning up from making breakfast.

"Ok, then. Come on, kid, we've got a lot of work ahead of us." 

"Yes, ma'am!" 

Brenna walked out to the barn, waiting for Jem to catch up as he hopped on foot while trying to tie his boots and keep up at the same time. Coming to her side, they both slipped in and back to where it opened up to another storage shed, this one lined with shelves that held pack upon pack of seeds for that years planting.

"Ok," she said as she sat down on a stool beside the farthest shelf away from the door, an empty crate at her feet ready to be used. "Here's what you do. Check the label and either put the seeds in the vegetable garden crate, the herb garden crate, or the fields crate."

"How'm I 'sposed to know what they says?" asked Jem in confusion as he picked up a packet and inspected the label. "I kin hardly read."

"Oh, right...hm. Then here." Brenna picked up two of packets, one which was labeled 'Spring wheat' and the other which was labeled 'Spring Oats'. "Can you memorize what these look like and just put those in the crate there to your right?"

"Uh...sure." Jem took a good look at both, tracing the letters with his finger as he did. "What're these for? Seeds, I mean?"

"What do you think plants grow from?" asked Brenna in surprise as she looked up from the packet she had in her hands at the moment, tossing it in the herb garden crate after glancing at its label. 

"...themselves?" Jem shrugged. "Never really though 'bout it. Never had a chance to learn."

"Do you want to learn?" offered Brenna, raising her eyebrows ever so slightly. "I mean, you do live on a farm now...most of what we do is with plants and animals!"

"Yeah, I guess so, then." Jem came and sat at her feet as Brenna began to explain what a seed was and how is grew into a plant, using the simplest terms possible and elaborating only once she was sure he'd gotten a good grip on what she'd already told him. 

"You mean to tell me that this lil'thingy is gonna grow into plant that's taller'n me with rows and rows of these things on it?" asked Jem as he held up a kernel of corn, his eyes wide in surprise. "Wow..."

"I guess it is pretty amazing, isn't it?" admitted Brenna with a slight smile. "I never thought about it that way, though."

"Will you teach me how to grow'em?" asked Jem suddenly, turning around to look at her with eyes wide with anticipation. "Please??"

"Sure, you can take over the herb garden, if you want," offered Brenna with a shrug. "One less thing for me to watch over all the time."

"Yeah! So...when do I get ta start??"

"Spring."

"Spring?! But that's weeks away!"

"Yeah, I know."

"Well...it'll be worth it."

Brenna chuckled to herself as Jem sat back down and began to sort out his 'Spring wheat' and 'Spring oats' packets again, happily dreaming of his own garden beside the house as he did. He sure was a strange boy, she though, but one that she was happy to have around none the less. 

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Briteyes woke staring at the ceiling of the attic, the place she'd chosen to reside since she was well enough to move around on her own again and move out of Rosethorn's room so the dedicate could have it back again. There wasn't any actual partition up there that separated her space from the rest of the huge room, but she'd taken the crates of clothes and supplies up there and moved them about to fit her needs, providing a space there for herself that she was completely comfortable moving about it.

Her hand held something rough in it, and she brought it up to her face as she squinted in the near darkness the attic. The only light coming from a small window above her cot, she shifted so she could see better and was surprised to see a bit of rough canvas with a wolverine head on it, that is before the memories of her dreams came back in a flood. Devan's help and directions for what she should do first, and from there she was on her own.

Sitting up slowly, she shook her head to clear it from the dreams of the night before and moved Silven from her lap to the pillow to the squirrel-girl could get some more sleep before facing the day ahead. Getting up, she stretched out and moved about, quickly packing that which she'd decided the night before would not be of any help to her such as her old outfit, instruments, and scrolls. Everything else went into a pack, including her leather armor and smaller weapons. The larger ones she placed in their sheaths if they had them and then wrapped them in yards of canvas, strapping them to her packs so they appeared to be nothing more than packages of sorts. 

Dressing in comfortable tunic and trews, she was lacing up her wrist guards that she'd decided to wear regardless when Lark came up, a small wicker basket in her hands as Briteyes had requested the night before.

"Are you sure?" asked Lark as she set it down on the table, a worried look in her eyes. 

"I am," replied Briteyes, though her voice betrayed her feelings as otherwise. "I might lose her too...I'll come back for her someday, I promise." She reached over to Silven, who sat up suddenly and took everything in in a single glance before something occurred between her fuzzy little ears that something was not quiet right. By then it was too late, and Briteyes had already picked her up and held her firmly in both hands.

"I'm sorry," said Briteyes as she looked in the squirrel in the eyes, willing her to understand why this had to happen. "But...you're staying here."

#I'm WHAT? LIKE HECK!! PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW, YOU-#

"_Don't!_" The command was obvious in Briteyes voice, but the squirrel went on anyways, quickly finding her words had no affect and deciding her fangs might do better instead. Sinking her teeth into the fleshy part of Briteyes hands between thumb and first finger, she clamped her jaws together for all she was worth and hung on with a grim determination that quickly had blood welling up around the wound in a rather large amount. 

Briteyes grimly forced her jaws back open by putting pressure on the hinge of it from either side and pushed her into the basket, putting the lid back on before the small creature could scamper out again.

#NO!# yelled Silven as she fought against those wicker bars. #Don't you DARE leave me behind! You need me! I've all you've got left...#

"And you know I have to come back eventually," replied Briteyes flatly turning away. "Hate me all you want, but...I'm not dragging you into this, Silven..."

#I'm going to KILL you when you get back!#

"You can't remember?"

#I'LL MAKE YOUR LIFE A LIVING HELL THAN!! GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!!#

Briteyes turned away and walked down the stairs with her pack on her back, leaving Lark to follow behind with the basket in her hands. Rosethorn met them at the bottom of the stairs, only nodding in greeting and farewell as the performer-turned warrior walked through the kitchen and to the front door. By her clothes now she could be any traveling wanderer, but once she left the temple she'd don her armor and weapons to complete the task for which she'd set herself. 

"You'll take care of Silven?" she asked as she paused by the door, still facing away from the two.

"We will," replied Rosethorn roughly. "She'll be waiting when you return."

"...thank you." And she was gone.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Bryanna frowned as she sat there looking at her hand and the strange scar that now twisted along the base of her index finger. Just a moment ago she'd cut it trying to slice some herbs she needed for the new medicine she was to prepare for their present teacher and his arthritis. As always, it only took a touch of her power to heal it, so she'd done so without thinking...but somehow it had turned rouge and instead of healing cleanly left a red, curving, twisted scar in its place.

"I think this place hates me," announced Olivia as she came into the room, another ruined ice creation in her hands. "I swear, not a week ago replication was as easy as breathing, and now I'm back to square one..."

"I know exactly what you mean," sighed Bryanna, holding up her finger so it could be seen. "Does that look right to you?"

"It looks like you let it get infected and it healed wrong," replied Olivia with a shrug. "Then again, I'm not healer, so I really couldn't tell you. That's just what I happen to think."

"And I think you're right...but I only did it a moment ago and it wasn't like I've lost control of my abilities before, especially when taking care of myself." Bryanna stood up and moved to the other side of the room, picking up a volume on healing as she did. "Maybe I'm developing a rouge magic...? But it would've shown itself before this, right?"

"I dunno, maybe it's one of those strange mage holidays you read about in books back home," speculated Olivia lightly. "Like, where everything magical goes awry for 24 hours and the next day everything's back to normal again."

"I don't think it could be that," said Randy from the door, standing there with their dinner in his hands. "My illusions and light spells have worked all day. Maybe you too are just getting lazy..."

"Are you suggesting that I would slack off while trying to make money so I can freakin' feed myself?" challenged Olivia, giving him what would be a lethal glare if looks could kill.

"Ah...no...but..."

"Then shut up."

"Yes, ma'am..."

"Anyway, I have to get this finished for tomorrow," sighed Bryanna as she turned back to the bowl of chopped herbs that had been soaking in water. "It'll work, magic or no magic, considering just how bad Master Silas is right now."

"Alright. I'll put together something from what the resident moron has brought us, and you can clean up afterwards, deal?"

"Sure."

"What can I do?" asked Randy as he edged a little closer. 

"Go take a long walk off a short pier?" suggested Bryanna, as she was still rather ticked off with him.

Randy glared at the back of her head. "Feh, to hell with you."

Bryanna smiled to herself for having gotten a rise out of him. "Just a suggestion..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Kristen growled in frustration as she waited with the other three in front of their new School of Combative Arts, dressed in a fine new gown while the others were decked out in styles of the same brocaded tunic, pants, and shirt. Chris and Jon, the only ones not among them, had decided not to come and there had been little fuss about that, considering he was to Sir 'Lover boy' he was just a Trader who lived among them and didn't have any real connection with the fighting school itself. Jon had been allowed not to come because the nobleman considered him to be a rude, moral-less wretch who would be tolerated only for his skills as a fighter. 

"You know, if his carriage doesn't show soon, I'm thinking I'm not going," stated Kristen suddenly, startling the other four out of their own thoughts. "Business or no, there's only so much of this dress nonsense I can take..."

"I would agree with you, but I'm not wearing a dress," said Matt rather pointedly as he smoothed down his hair on top and stood a little taller, the darker shades of his outfit complimenting his fair skin nicely. "That, and it will be nice to get to mingle with a few ladies of higher decent, so you're going whether or not you want to because you're our ticket in, sister."

Kristen glared at him defiantly. "And what if I suddenly don't want to?"

The carriage pulled up right then, and Mike quickly steered them both towards it with a firm hand on both their backs. "Get in and stop fighting children," he said quickly so only the two of them could hear. "Now. This guy funds most of our food right now, let's not forget that, ok? You may be willing to go hungry, Kristen, over your feminist views, but I'm not."

"Gee, nice to know you care about what I think," came the sarcastic reply, but Kristen obeyed none the less and allowed Cam to lean against her as the carriage made it's way to the richer section of Summersea. 

"Two hours at the most," she warned as she alighted from their ride with the help of the driver. "At the very most, that's all I'll be able to stand. Less would be better...but I swear if you don't come and find me in two hours and insist we leave, I'm going to leave without you and you're going to have to find your own rides home."

"I think I'm staying with you anyways," said Cam nervously as he fidgeted with the edge of his tunic, looking at some of the other nobles and wealthy merchants who were arriving as well. "I don't know anyone else here..."

"And behave!" added Kristen as Matt and Mike strode off, already laughing at some joke shared between the two. "I will disown you if you start trouble because you're drunk!"

"Milady!" cried the all-too familiar voice of Sir Gwain as he appeared to her right, quickly making his way to her side and offering her his arm. Knowing she had no other choice but to accept or offend him horribly at this event that was supposedly in their school's honor of finally being reopened, she took it lightly and touched him as little as possible without making it obvious that she wanted him to be as far away from her as the east is from the west. 

"Sir Gwain," she greeted with a slight curtsy, choking back the desire to smack him at the same time. "We, the Masters of the school, thank you for this celebration you've hosted for us."

"Ah, the pleasure is all mine," he replied suavely, leading the way back inside as Cam trailed just behind and to her right the whole way. Glancing back, she shared a knowing glance with him and was glad for his support at least. Time, thankfully, seemed to pass quickly enough and through several conversations with other Masters of this Combative school or that she gained much more knowledge of the different dojos and salles around and what they had to offer. 

"I'm glad to see you are enjoying yourself," said Sir Gwain loftily as he came and pulled her away from another conversation which she'd much rather finish than follow him somewhere else.

"I wouldn't say enjoying myself, but passing the time in a less than disagreeable way would do," replied Kristen stiffly, hoping it would push him away enough that he might leave her alone for awhile. Unfortunately, he either didn't get or ignored the slight insult and continued to chatter on about his own supposed 'great wealth' and 'wonderful trading skills' while she listened on, completely bored to tears. 

She was about to excuse herself on the first reason she could think of when something caught her eye in the crow, drawing it away from him to where he noticed and followed her line of sight out into the crowd itself.

"Do you see something?" he asked lightly, a note worry barely showing through his voice. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh...no, I though I saw someone I knew," replied Kristen as she searched the faces she could see one more time before letting it drop. "It must've been my imagination."

"Apparently so. And back to what I was saying-"

"Excuse me," said Matt as he appeared out of nowhere, Matt right beside him with a slightly plastered look on his face, but standing just the same. "My apologies for interrupting, Sir Gwain, but it is time we escorted the fair lady Kristen home that she might get her rest before the arduous day she has head."

"Oh, of course, how foolish of me to keep you to myself when you have other duties to attend to!" exclaimed Sir Gwain regretfully. "Shall I escort you home personally, fair lady of my heart?"

"No, thank you, I believe my partners shall do," replied Kristen roughly as she quickly backed away from him and stood beside Matt and Mike, Cam taking his place in front of her as usual. "We thank you for your hospitality, Sir Gwain. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, oh fairest of the maidens!"

"I ought to kill him," stated Kristen as they got in the carriage. "I honesty ought to just chop off his head and then this'll all be over with...give me one good reason why I couldn't, Matt? Because I can't think of one."

"Because you know you'd never have the guts to lift a blade against that defenseless man, and besides." Matt smirked to himself. "You might get blood on your new dress. Wouldn't want that, would you?"

Kristen's eyes narrowed as she sat back and sighed. "Maybe I ought to kill you instead..."

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"Hey, Cap'n!" called Jack as he shimmied down the mast of the mainsail and waved to Jenny who was on the deck below. "We got a guy who's eyeing the ship just on the other side a the gangplank. Want to check it out?"

"I probably should," replied Jenny with a shrug, heading for the starboard side of the ship where the gangplank lay, Trevor appearing at her side as she went.

"It's probably someone looking for passage to someplace along our route," he guessed in a low voice. "That or a shipment of goods to get to a certain port along our way. We have to be careful, regardless, there hasn't been a report of stolen goods or an escaped criminal recently but if he hasn't any proof of who he says he is, I will be checking into his background before we let him on board."

"That's fine," agreed Jenny with a slight nod of her head. "We can't really afford  to make mistakes like that, after all. Not with only a six person crew plus a nymph, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Heyla," said the stranger who stood there, dressed entirely in black with only his eyes and long, beak-ish nose showing. "This be the First ship Windsor, and thee it's fine Captain?" 

"Yes," replied Jenny slowly, standing there with her arms cross. "And who are you?"

"I be Velan, a mage who wishes to journey to Shahben, which I am told is your next port," explained the man with a slight bow. He raised his head over so slightly and eyed their ship emotionlessly. "I suppose this tub thy posses would do...what thee say, Trader Captain?"

"I'd say what is it you're going to give me for letting you on board my ship, which is no more a tub than you are a king," retorted Jenny. 

"My price, then, is here," said the supposed mage absently, handing her a scrap of folded paper. "My cargo be myself, and a few boxes. Return to thee here at the same time tomorrow, I will." With that he vanished down the street, leaving Jenny and Trevor standing there with only the bit of paper proof that he'd ever been there at all.

Trevor took the paper and opened it carefully, his eyes growing huge when he saw the price.

"What?" asked Jenny as she took it from him. "He want to pay too much? Because I won't argue with that..." Her words trailed off when she saw the price for herself. 

"No, he wants to rob us blind," murmured Trevor angrily as he stomped back to the ship. "Bloody _kaqs_, thinking they can use us like dogs..."

"Relax, we'll just refuse the offer and let him make another tomorrow," replied Jenny with a shrug. "No harm done there."

"I guess..."

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Jem sat on the edge of the stall as Libby continued to show him how to curry the horses and brush out their manes and tails, keeping them clean of insets and parasites that might harm them as well as beautiful. 

"Can I try?" he asked as she moved on to the next, hesitating for a moment before handing him the brush. 

"Sure," she replied with a shrug. "Take Shaggy, that old fellow right there. You could yank on his ear and he won't do more than flinch and eye, so I'm thinking you'll be fine."

"Alright!"

"That doesn't mean you can just yank on his tail all you want, though!" called Libby after him as he dashed down the center isle to where the other curry combs and brushes were kept. "If he bites you I'm not going to take the blame from Kaitlin or Cheeks for you!"

"I know!" He was back a second later, panting slightly, but with the proper grooming articles in his hands and ready to get down to business. "I'll be really careful, I promise!"

"Ok, then..."

Side by side they worked, silence falling over them barn besides the occasional murmur to console the mount they worked on or snort and shuffle of hooves that waited restlessly to be let out back to the field or hooked up to something for an afternoon of work. 

"Lunch is ready!" called Kaitlin from back door to the house awhile later, bringing both out of their work and back to the present just as Jem finished combing out the last of the knots from Shaggy's tail and braiding it up in a loop so it wouldn't catch in the harness later on. 

"Let's go," said Libby as she tossed her tools in a bucket outside the stall and motioned for Jem to do the same with his, walking on out towards the house. "You've done well enough for now."

"Have I?" asked Jem eagerly as he rushed to her side. "Done good, I mean?"

"Yeah," replied Libby with a smile as she ruffled his hair. "I suppose."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Briteyes wandered into Summersea through one of the side entrances, the mount she'd purchased earlier that morning with the rest of her funds walking along patiently behind her with all of her 'goods' strapped to his back. He wasn't such a bad fellow, about 14 hands high and bred with running endurance and stamina in mind rather than sprinting speed. A dark, dappled gray, he was just what she had in mind for what she needed done. 

The leather armor and chain mail she wore was heavy, but hidden beneath a large cloak she'd also made that was wrapped tightly about herself at the moment. Silent, and her face hidden by her hood, no one bothered her as she walked through to the less profitable parts of town, right on the edge of the mire where less-than-honest swords could be bought to protect people or goods that weren't always legal for a decent price.

Stopping at one particular Inn along the way, she quickly flipped the stable boy a copper to watch her gelding for a few hours and walked in with her head still down and hood up. The main room itself was about half full, a few of the conversations dying down for a moment as some observed her as she took her place at the bar, but seeing she was not an immediate threat to any of them they ignored her and went back to the business at hand.

"Something you want?" asked the Innkeeper as he strolled up, wiping down the counter in front of her with a dirty rag. 

"Ale, and perhaps a few words with you," she replied in a low voice, muffled by the hood so he couldn't tell her age, nor if she was male or female period. 

"'Pends, what words have you to say?" he replied distantly, eyeing her as if to make sure she wasn't a threat it any which way.

"Where do I find those who carry this mark?" she asked as she slid the scrap of fabric out of her sleeve and into plain view for the Innkeeper. 

"Those who bear that mark are naught but murders and thieves, stranger," said the Innkeeper hesitantly. "'Tis naught an honest-looking person like yourself would want with the likes of them."

"It is my cousin I seek," she replied slowly. "He was among them, last the family heard...I have been sent to find him."

"Well, then..." The man hesitated, obviously uncomfortable as he shifted from foot to foot. "If one were to seek those who bear that mark...one would wish to go north and east from here to the very northern tip of the Pebbled Sea. At the place which bears that mark you'll find your answer."

"Thank you." Amanda stood slowly and slipped some coins on the counter, leaving the ale behind untouched. "You have been most helpful."

"If you know what's good for you, you'll head home and never set foot in that direction," he called after her as she left, hood still up and head down.

"Too bad I don't," she murmured to herself, getting her horse and mounting quickly. Fighting her way through the crowds back out of town, she then cantered towards the said place, finding a small town there nestled among the dunes after traveling nonstop for two days straight and nearly foundering her horse as she did. Having traded him off with a merchant on the second afternoon, she now road a roan mare whose gaits were as offbeat as any rhythmically challenged drummer and nearly drove Briteyes insane with her random changes in pattern. Still, she reached her goal and soon found that which she looked for on the outskirts of town in the form of another Inn.

This one was nearly deserted, with only a few older men in a back corner dressed similarly to those who had assaulted her and her brother that fateful night. Suppressing the urge to strangle each until he told her what she wanted to know, she instead sat at the counter as she had done before and waited for the Innkeeper to take notice of her. 

Eventually he did and came over to stand before her, nervously wiping down some glasses as he did. Apparently strangers rarely ever came here, and she was probably as strange as they ever got. 

"Something for you?" he asked gruffly, brows furrowed as she shrugged. 

"Depends on if you can tell me where I can find a Sir Constantine and his boys," she replied in an absent voice, watching him carefully from under the folds of her hood. 

"I don't know a Sir Constantine," he replied flatly, turning away. "I think it'd be best if you leave, stranger."

"You do know him," she replied as she stood carefully, aware that the other men's eyes were on her back the whole time. Dropping the scrap of fabric on the table, she added, "I was told to give him a message personally, and if he's not told right away he might be very angry if he found out who it was who stalled it from reaching him..."

"The boss doesn't send his messages through lackeys, little stranger," said a gruff voice by her ear as she was suddenly grabbed from behind. "And I think you know too much for your own good."

Briteyes just smiled....

Walking out of the Inn a few moments later, she tucked the map in her tunic and rinsed her hands of the reddish filth which stained them. Those four wouldn't be talking about her visit to anyone now. Ignoring the rise of disgust, and even self loathing that she'd fallen to such a state, Briteyes mounted her mare and took off, more than ready to finish things off. She would find out who had taken and killed her brother, and she would have her revenge.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Come on, guys, we're leaving soon!!" called Olivia as she finished packing her bags and dragged them outside to where their horses waited impatiently to leave.

"Coming!!" called Bryanna as she ran out of her room right on her tail, slinging her own bags over her mount's bag and securing them in place before heading inside to make sure she'd forgotten nothing else.

"My stuff's ready, just give me a sec!" called Randy as he knelt beside his own bags. Making sure no one else was watching, he quickly pulled out the wooden box and a single medallion, running back into the mage's workroom where he left it under some books while Bryanna had him occupied with the store of pain relievers and teas which would help reduce the swelling around his joints. 

Olivia noticed as he slipped back out of the workroom, catching his eye with a wave of her hand and asking what he had been doing with just a jerk of her head. 

Randy smiled. "My mission."

Olivia frowned all the more. "Randy, I'm not so sure about-"

"I am," he cut in, turning to walk away. "Just let me have my fun, ok? No one's going to get hurt or anything..."

"Alright..."

"Where are you guys?" called Bryanna from the front. "I've got our seals, and the longer we wait the more traffic there's going to be heading through town!"

"We're coming," Randy called, trotting on out as Olivia followed at a slower, more sedated pace. She still couldn't help that feel something wasn't quite right, and the medallions had something at least to do with it. She just hoped she was wrong.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Cam carefully began to the most basic forms Kristen had taught him, every stance and movement perfectly executed, completely controlled and relaxed without being too loose nor too rigid. Completing the basic stances in a matter of moments, he moved on and continued right into the next, this one the next step up which taught the best forms of defense for someone of his size and speed. The third, which he went into without hesitation moments later, was the basic for attacks.

Though the first one was the same pattern taught to every one, all those after it Kristen had personalized for Cam's own style. He wasn't particularly strong, being more lean than muscle. His speed was great, though, and his reflexes probably better than hers. Short and light, his way was one which used to his speed to dodge more attacks or glance them off in one direction or another rather than block them straight on and to strike quickly and without warning rather than an all out attack. 

Watching with a critical eye from a corner, both Kristen and Jon nodded to themselves as he continued as flawlessly as one could expect for someone who, though he'd only come into the art since they'd come to Summersea had trained relentlessly to the point where it had nearly become an obsession of his. 

"Looks like our boy's going to be of use to us after all," commented Jon as he stood suddenly.

"He's not taking your class, Jon," replied Kristen flatly.

"But he'd be good at it!" countered Jon. "Look at him, he's got the speed and the balance..."

"And I need him to be able to take over my youngest classes," snapped Kristen in return. "Not being out for weeks at a time due to the broken arm you gave him when you sparred in the beams. Besides, he has not head for heights and you know it too."

"How'd I do?" asked Cam as he trotted over, having just completed the final patterned dance she'd taught him and come over to see what they were fussing about. 

"Very well," said Kristen as she rose quickly. 

"How would you like to join my class for a change?" offered Jon before she could stop him, ignoring her glare as he did. "You have what it takes right now..."

"Thanks but no thanks," replied Cam instantly, his face going white. "I enjoy learning...not going through massive amounts of pain and torture."

Jon smiled wickedly. "But that's half the fun!"

"Thankfully, neither of us happen to agree with your definition of 'fun'." 

Jon just rolled his eyes and shrugged, heading back for his side of the salle. "Well, I have to get back to work. My next class will appear shortly."

"Good riddance," muttered Cam under his breath as he crossed his arms behind his head. "You couldn't catch me in that class for all the wealth this world holds."

"Nice to know you plan on living a long and fruitful life," sighed Kristen sarcastically. "Come on, we've got things of our own to do."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Don't call me that," protested Kristen as she gave him a light push. "It makes me feel old."

Cam paused. "But compared to me, you are old..."

"Oh, hush you."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Jenny was waiting with Trevor at the end of the gangplank as their black robed 'mage fellow' shuffled up out of nowhere again, standing before them slightly bent over just like last time. 

"Velan," said Jenny as she nodded to him gravely. "We refuse to accept that offer. Only twice that will get you on board my ship before we leave for port."

"Thieves, you are then!" declared the mage angrily. "My offer be generous indeed, for now I will pay no more than HALF what I offered!"

"Half?!" sputtered Trevor, going off on a tirade of Trader curses before turning back to the man just as angry. "That's ludicrous! What do you take us for, mage? Fools whom you can walk over like the dirt which is under your feet?!"

"Half it be, or Velan takes his business elsewhere!" threatened the mage as he stopped one foot angrily. "Thieves and murders be what your people be. Is known to all, cannot deny what is true. Should be glad I even make such a generous offer to you, brainless Traders!"

"First you insult my ship and now my crew," growled Jenny as she stood her ground, eyes flashing. "Why are you so intent upon getting passage on my ship, Velan, when there are half a dozen other ships bound to make the same voyage within the next few days? Go to one of them and make your offer, maybe they'll take it where I wouldn't and in your opinion be more honest as well."

"I would, were it not know that your tub be the fastest there is, outrunning all storms and never failing to have a good wind in your sails!" retorted Velan arrogantly as if it were his ship he spoke of and not theirs. "Valuable me and my cargo is...cannot take chances, not now." Turning suddenly he shuffled off. "Think it over, you will," he called back at them. "Return I will in two days time, when the tides are ready to set sail." And again, he disappeared.

"You know," commented Trevor as Jenny stood there with her jaw clenched shut. "He's really starting to get on my nerves..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Cheeks stood outside the fenced area for the sheep and goats as Jem came scampering up out of the blue to stand beside him, watching curiously for a few moments before asking, "What'cha doin'?"

"Building a fence, maybe," replied Cheeks with a shrug. "It depends."

"On what?"

Cheeks shrugged vaguely as he looked over the pen. "On whether or not I think it needs to be done." 

"...that dun make any sense." Cheeks glanced down at his young charge, who was looking back up at him as confused as could be. "You're being as...as...cunfuzzling as Kaitlin is!"

"Cunfuzzling?" Cheeks raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. "Do you mean confusing?"

"Uh...yeah? Maybe?"

"Wow, you're very special Jem."

"Tha's what Kaitlin keeps tellin' me."

"Right...but about the fence. We had a good year last year and had to make the pen bigger, so if we have the same sort of year we're going to have to do it again. So I'm debating between doing it now and saving the time later or waiting until I have to, if I have to at all, and possibly crowding them in tighter than is good for them until I can find the time to fix it." The young man glanced down at his shadow, crossing his arms as he did. "What do you think?"

"Well...do ya think you're gonna have a good year?" asked the boy carefully.

"Maybe," replied Cheeks with a shrug. "Seems like good luck follows us everywhere, as of late. But I'd hate to 'count your chicks before they're hatched' as the saying goes."

"I c'n see that, but...what can it hurt?"

"Besides a few days wasted labor, nothing really."

"Then I'd do it."

Cheeks looked down at Jem, who stared back up at him with determination written all over his face. "You really are something, you know that?"

Jem just smiled as he picked up a couple of the stakes and tools they needed to work. "Yeah."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Briteyes sat in a tree on the edge of the forest, one which bordered the valley bellow. Looking down she spotted the campfires of the group she had been searching for, a few sentries posted in plain sight and probably a few others in hiding, but they wouldn't trouble her in the least. Three weeks it took to find them, two days and nights she'd stalked them, observing their every movement. Tonight she was the hunter, and they were her prey.

Poking around a bit more on some marked places she'd found out just what the Wolverines, as they were called, were. A few generations back they'd been a mercenary group loyal to some noble housing to the north. Whatever had happened, for that had been the one thing she could find out nothing about, one faction had broken off and become what they are not for the least favored members of the household who had fled east. Establishing new lands, the eldest son of the man who had fled into exile became the leader of the Wolverines and hired them out to several of his less than honest noblemen who needed such sell-swords who were completely loyal to their master to the point of death. One of those noblemen would be her next target, no matter what it took to find out who it was.

The sun sank completely behind the horizon as she finally bothered to stir herself from her tree, slipping back to where her horse waited ever so patiently for her. The same roan mare who she'd traded for the gray dapple a week ago and had been faithfully carrying her where she wanted ever since. 

Gathering together her bow and arrows, she left the rest of her weaponry except a few knives in case of an emergency behind in fork of a tree and slunk off to where the sentries stood. Waiting patiently as any hunter who's game was finally in sight, she finally marked where all 9 sentries were and went about the business of picking them off, one by one. A carefully placed shaft through the throat, then dragging the body off to the side under some bushes where it wasn't obvious in the dark, she completed her task before the moon had reached its zenith and began the next.  

Slipping along the edges of the camp she came to where the horses were and silently cut them loose one by one, quieting each with a gentle touch and lump of sugar before sending them away from their cruel masters to a better life they might find elsewhere.

Now the moon had reached its peak, and she was prepared. The second watch would soon be coming to replace the first, and the performer-turned assassin traded her bow and empty quiver for sword and bladed staff. Waiting just within the bounds of the camp, Briteyes sat in the lone, dead tree which presided over the place and she was in plain view. The next set of guards woke on time and come out, surprised to find their comrades gone, and after Briteyes had dropped down the one closest to her and beheaded them, a killer in their midst.

"What do you want?!" demanded one of the guards, holding his spear towards her as she stood before him leather armor and all, with just a hood to cover her head from view. 

Briteyes felt her lips curving up into a twisted smile, her sense of self-preservation and all other kind instincts shutting down and bloodlust and desire for revenge began to course through her veins. "It's cliche, but....your life." She leapt at him faster than he could move to block as she brought her staff in a low double arch, the first swing taking off his arm and the second his head. 

Moving swiftly onward, his companions soon mobbed themselves around her in hopes of closing in so she could no longer swing her staff and they'd be able to take it from her before killing her as she'd done to some of them. Still, she saw it coming and continued to hew a path through them where she was constantly moving forward, not running away as much as keeping them at a distance where her weapon had the advantage. 

Still, she was detached from the battle, each kill a distant one that felt like it was at the hands of another instead of herself. Cutting through a thin spot in the ranks to her left, she darted through and stopped a few feet above them on the slope. Planting her weapon there in the ground blade first, she drew her sword instead and her grin widened all the more.

"Come and get me," she taunted, her green eye beginning to shine with a clear, unnatural light. "If you can." Without giving them time to reply she surged forward, screaming a terrible beastlike cry from the very depths of her grief-ridden soul that tore through the hearts of those who faced her before her sword tore through them as well. Her blade no more than a flash of light, and her body a blur, she was everywhere at once and nowhere at the same time. For every drop of blood they managed to make her shed they paid with in gallons of her own. Bit by bit, man by man they fell. 

Ducking under another's guard she impaled him on her sword and then rammed it to the right, bringing it out of him entirely and up in an arc so it sheared off the head of the man next to him. Flipping it around and to the back she felt it connect with solid flesh and twisted the blade cruelly. Whoever had been planning to sneak up on her was now either dead, or crippled for life and might as well be. That is, if she left him be. Yanking her blade out, she turned around and gutted him again as he fell to be sure, her thirst for blood taking away all sense of humanity that she once had. 

The moon was reaching the horizon just as the last came at her in a final attack, each falling with their comrades as before. Soaked in blood that was mainly those from the numerous corpses around her, she went to the tent that dominated the center of the carnage that had once been a camp. Thrusting the front flap aside she was met with five more guards, probably the elite of those in the camp, surrounding her main target who was watching all of this with a nervous, perhaps even petrified look on his face. 

"Go and kill the murderer!" he cried upon seeing her enter. "Kill her for the deaths of all those who've fought by your side! He who kills her will be my second in command without question. 

The five wavered, but went forward none the less. Briteyes looked over them all as she stood there panting, exhausted but more than willing to push on through this final obstacle. Reaching behind her back she took out the three daggers she'd never touched and sent them flying, each finding it's mark in the forehead or chest of three of the five who stood there. Seeing most of their ground gone, the last two dropped their weapons and fled, Briteyes ignoring them as she walked forward slowly, one measured step at a time.

He was a beautiful as ever, she had to give him that. Even though he'd obviously been woken straight from his pallet and made to dress, every inch was immaculate as if he'd spent hours primping himself in front of a mirror. Not a hair of his golden tresses was out of place, and his skin flawless except for the horizontal scar across his cheek...the one she'd given him what seemed to be months ago.

"Who are you?!" he demanded as he backed up slowly, grabbing one of the swords from his fallen man and standing there with his hands shaking so badly that he could hardly hold the weapon let alone use it. "What is it you want with me!?"

"Information, first off," replied Briteyes as she sat down on his stool, resting her bloodied sword across her knees. 

"And secondly?" he asked so quietly she could barely hear the words.

"You'll see. I'm surprised you haven't recognized me, though." She shook off the hood, looking at him with hooded eyes that seemed to burn a hole right through his innermost being.

"YOU!!" His face went from surprise, to shock, to the realization that is was _she_, some supposedly common whore who, who had killed his men, to anger that he would have his own revenge. "I...why you little-!!"

Briteyes stood just as he charged, easily knocking his blade aside and kicking him in the chest so he fell onto his back. Her sword at his throat, she placed a foot right where she'd kicked him and pushed down ever so slightly, making it increasingly more difficult to breath with every second that passed.

"Who hired you?" she asked quite simply. 

"What will you do if I tell you?" he wheezed back.

Briteyes nicked his throat so a trickle of blood ran down his neck, leaning on his chest even more as her eyes narrowed. "That's not what I asked you. Answer me!"

"Lord...Hemson...." he gasped, eyes wide with fear as he struggled to breath. "He...wanted you...for himself..."

"I see." She paused, then stepped back long enough for him to catch his breath before she plunged her sword through his stomach almost to the hilt, secured in place by the majority of it that was now stuck through the ground. He stared back up at her, agony written in every line of his face as he began to die a slow and painful death. 

"Please..." he gasped, knowing he could linger like this for an hour or more if left in this state. "Mercy..."

"To be sure you're dead, gladly." And with a single stroke of a dagger, he was dead.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

  The three Journey progressed northwards, stopping at each town to study under any mages they might find there regardless of if they needed it for credit or not, you never know when some random bit of knowledge might come in handy. Four towns they'd already gone through, Bryanna slowly gaining her control back the farther they went and Randy leaving a medallion with each of the three or four teachers in the town as he did. 

Olivia was as annoyed as ever with the two. It had been weeks since they'd left, and the war was continued on from when they'd left that cursed place as if it had happened only yesterday. Granted, they did have their moments when they barely tolerated each other while others were watching, but out on the road alone and no teacher around to give them disapproving looks they were at their worst. And Olivia, but some stroke of ill luck, was right in the middle of it.

"Can the two of you at least act like you like each other?" she sighed as they rode along to their next destination, a larger city that had some mages a few days up the road. "I mean, come on, you have to be getting tired of this crap already..."

"Hey, I can keep this up for a year if I have to," cut in Bryanna with a shrug. "The idiot is wrong, the sooner he admits it the sooner I'll consider acting like he's an actual sentient being again without being forced to."

"Problem is, the little slut over there can't figure out I'm right," countered Randy, talking to Olivia as if Bryanna wasn't apart of the conversation at all. "Once she does, maybe I'll consider thinking of her as someone who thinks with her brain rather than her hormones."

"You know," Bryanna commented sarcastically before Olivia could open her mouth to speak. "I find it funny that talk of hormone control is coming from a guy in reference to a girl. Is it just me, or does that prove my earlier statement of him being an idiot?"

Olivia sighed and she rubbed her temples gently, trying to lessen the growing, pulsing pain there as she blocked the other two out. This was going to be a very long ride...

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Matt swaggered into one of Kristen's beginner classes, watching all the students as they struggled through their forms which they'd learned last class and would be perfecting for the next several weeks. Crossing his arms as he wandered to the front, he stood there next to Kristen who was calling out corrections while Cam led the forms for her.

"You know," he commented after it ended and the students were given a moment to stretch and catch their breath. "Your discipline is really lacking, you know. Look at them, lazing about like this...I'm surprised they learn anything at all!"

"Hey!" said one of her older students before she could reply, placing himself between him and her. The young boy was about 13 years old or so and just came up to his chin, a fierce look in him eyes as he took the stance he'd mastered a few weeks before. "Don't speak to Miss Kristen like that! She teaches us better than you teach your fencing class!"

"Hey, back off brat and get back in line," retorted Matt, shooing him away with a wave of his hand. "I'm talking with Kristen, not you."

"I bet I could take you down, pansy."

"What?! A little whelp like you half my size?! You wouldn't stand a chance!"

The boy fell more securely into the stance. "Try me."

Matt shrugged, then brought up his fists and brought his fist up from under in planning to knock the wind out of the boy and have it over with. The boy blocked it much faster than he thought, though, and whirled around so his back was to Matt, slamming his elbow into his nose, his gut, and then his groin. The whole class cheered as the fencing instructor fell over, groaning in agony as Kristen just smiled and shrugged.

"You accepted his challenge," she chided him as he gave her a disapproving look. "Don't try blaming this one on me. Class dismissed, though! Try and stay out of trouble until your guardians get here, those of you who don't walk home."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Kristen motioned to Cam who took off towards the house and was back a few moments later with some ice wrapped in a towel in his hands. "You're gonna have a nice shiner from that hit, though I didn't know he could execute that part of it so well," she commented as she helped him sit up and put it over the said eye which was no swollen shut, a trickle of blood running from his nose. "So my students are undisciplined, are they? You want to say that again when one of my actual experienced classes are around?"

"Not really," he muttered through his ice pack. "I will trade you fencing lessons for hand-to-hand ones, though, so I can get that brat back."

Kristen considered his words, then nodded. "Ok. On one condition that is."

Matt winced as he turned his head to look over at her "What?"

"Your ego stays out of it when fencing or I will leave you worse off than this each time I teach you your set of lessons."

Matt muttered a curse under his breath as he tried to sit up more on his own. "Deal."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Jenny stood at the railing of her ship, the gangplank up and everything ready to go with one small exception. The tides wouldn't be right for another twenty minutes or so, and they were still waiting for their mage fellow to show up. There was no way he was getting on board, but Jenny did want the satisfaction of watching him jump up in down in anger as they sailed away out of sight. It would make up for all the times he'd insulted her crew and ship in each and every way. 

The mage appeared right then, looking at the ship in puzzlement as some men appeared with his boxes as well. 

"What you be doing out there?" he called, seeing her on deck watching him from the side.

"I'm getting ready to leave," she called back. "Without you."

The mage stood there for a moment in shock, then shook his fist at her in rage. "Do something to you I cannot right now, but I have many powerful friends, many!! It would not do to anger Valen more than he is angered right now!"

"I wouldn't take you on board my ship if you doubled the price you asked originally," Jenny called back, seeing Trevor roll his eyes at the thought that such an obviously insane mage might know someone of the least bit importance. "And that's final!"

"You will regret this!!!" he screeched as Tanner began to take them out to sea, between him and Nicole the exit from the harbor going very smoothly indeed. "You will regret the day you angered Valen the mage!!"

"If we do, it will only be because we didn't take him on board and then throw him into the sea with lead weights around his ankles just to rid the world of his annoying presence," commented Trevor as he strolled past, waving to the mage lightly before disappearing below deck for whatever else needed to be done.

Jenny rolled her eyes as they lost sight of the harbor, and the irate mage, completely. "For once, I am greatly inclined to agree."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Cheeks and Libby sat across from each other on the barn floor, every bit of tack the farm owned spread out around them as they checked it for weaknesses, tears, or rips that would need to be patched and mended before they could be safely used again.

Jem came and sat beside them, watching for awhile before he picked up a harness and tried to imitate them, going over it's every inch just as they had, tugging on the joints and seams to make sure they were secure. "This ones good!" he announced proudly as he stood up, taking it with him to place on the other side.

"Hold up," said Libby as she took it from his hands and put it back where it was. "We know that because I just checked it. These ones on this are the ones that are done, silly."

Jem looked at either side, then blushed. "Oh..."

"Here," said Cheeks as he pulled the boy into a sitting position once more, thrusting a bottle of oil, a bowl of grease, and some rags in his hands. "Get all the squeaks and stiff parts out of them, ok? We were gonna do it later, but having you do it now will save us a lot of time..."

Jem nodded as he settled himself to work, a smile on his face. "Ok!!"

"You are the strangest kid in the world," declared Libby as she glanced up at him and then went back to her own business.

"Why?" asked Jem as he looked up from what he was doing at her.

"Because, kids aren't supposed to like to work, they're supposed to like to run off and play!" replied Libby as if it were obvious. 

"Who would I play with?" asked Jem. "It's no fun playing by yourself."

Libby opened her mouth, and then paused. "You know, that is a very good point..."

"Shot down by the little guy," said Cheeks with a grin as he dodged away from Libby's poke to his ribs. "Hey, none of that now!"

Libby gave him a perfectly angelic look. "None of what, Cheekums?"

Jem glanced between them both and backed up a bit. "And you say I'm weird."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Briteyes easily found her way as far as the swamp which she and her brother had gone through to reach Sir Hemson's lands. The vile, reeking lands where evil simply oozes from every pore, but it didn't matter to her anymore. Most everything, including the sword, she'd left back at the camp. Having stripped herself to only a shirt and her pants, the only things she owned that weren't stained with blood, she carried her bladed staff and bow and arrows, the only two clues that she was any sort of a fighter. Her horse had been sold to a farmer in trade for a cloak and some money, which had then been used to get her new boots and more supplies. 

The bodies of the men she'd killed she burned, and the too-sweet smell of their incinerated flesh hung about her still, no matter what she might do to wash it away. Only food had she taken from their camp, the rest of it burned with the men who'd owned it past recognition. The wines and distilled spirits she'd found there had been more than enough as it was to set the entire place aflame, and the dead limbs she'd added among the bodies had helped it burn clear and hot for hours to come. 

Now, though, she faced her biggest obstacle of all. The path was twisted and branched many times, she remembered that much. Where she was supposed to turn or go straight, or even ford straight through some ponds to avoid the quicksand on either side. Still, it was on the other side that her target lay, and as she began the dreary walk into it she vowed never to turn back until she reached the other side, no matter how many times it took her to die and revive before she could get past the traps that lay within. 

One who watched her leave might thing the swamp had swallowed her alive as she trudged through it, slogging in muck up to her knees. And in more than one sense, they were right. A week she spent fighting to find her way through that horrid swamp, and a week's time was all it needed to work itself upon her.

Each day she struggled on through the mire and the muck, never stopping to rest nor to eat what meager meals she could find. Dawn until dusk she trudged on, often times forcing herself to take the next step only by the promise of the Lord Hemson's blood waiting for her on the other side. But at night...at night it was worse. She'd wake from nightmares screaming in terror, visions of horror far worse than anything she could ever imagine for herself. Deaths of countless friends and family, watching them writhe in pain and agony as they were tortured and torn to pieces, often times living through the same hell at the same time herself and unable to do anything about it. Her days became the same, lack of sleep making her hallucinate as she ran from demons that didn't exist and fought creations of her imagination. Slowly something other than herself began to take control and bit by bit befuddled her mind and twisted her sense of direction until she walked just to keep moving and maybe find a way to escape the shadows of her mind that followed her everywhere. 

Seven days after she'd begun her journey she stumbled back out again, the swamp releasing her from its grip beaten and torn between the madness that filled her mind and the desire in her heart to kill the man who'd taken her brother from her. Fighting only made it worse, her steps slowly bringing her back towards Summersea despite what she may do to force them back to the swamp again. Day after day it went on like this, never sleeping nor eating, barely a ghost of herself that continued on until she gave in and found an unsettling peace descend upon herself once more. For now she'd obey it, she decided, for now she'd return. 

 %~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Bryanna searched through the bags on what she assumed was Olivia's bed, leaving that which she didn't need to the side so it could be repacked or placed in drawers later on. 

"You're sure it's in here?" she called back towards the door, frowning as she dug even deeper into the bag. "I swear, there isn't any sort of a package in here...wait, do you mean this box?" She pulled out a plain wooden one with a hinged lid, ignoring her odd instinct to jerk back her hand and pulling it out anyways. She'd probably just had it spelled or ordinary people wouldn't mess with it. 

"Kind of hard for me to see when I'm out here and you're in there," came the sarcastic reply. "Just open it, ok? If it's the right one, it'll have about...oh...six small seals jars in it I think."

"What's the label for eyebright look like?" asked Bryanna as she set it aside, making sure there where no other boxes in there as well. 

"Can't remember, you'll have to bring it out here so I can show you."

"Ok."

Bryanna picked up the box and opened the lid, blinking for a moment before she dropped it and dashed to the side, backing away from the medallions that littered the floor as fast as she could. Muttered to herself incoherently, she wiped her hands again and again on her sleeves, feeling like she'd touched something she couldn't rid herself of.

Olivia ran in a moment later. "What was that?!" she demanded, seeing Bryanna huddled by the wall staring at something out of her line of vision. "Bry, is something wrong...?"

"Hey, is everything alright?" asked Randy as he appeared just then, coming in the other door next to them and seeing his medallions strewn all over the floor and the box shattered into a million pieces around it. "Hey, what the-"

"YOU!!" Bryanna was on her feet and grabbed him around the neck, only to jerk her hands back with a shriek as if she'd been burned as his own medallion fell out of his shirt and dangled around his neck. "You...you're a traitor...how could you...?"

"What do you mean, traitor?!" he demanded as he backed away, carefully tucking the disk back under his shirt. "And what were you doing in my stuff, you sneak?!"

"I thought it was Olivia's!" cried Bryanna defensively. "Randy, I don't know where you got that but get rid of it now!"

"No! You're just jealous because the Master gave the box and delegated such an important mission to me!" retorted Randy as he turned his back on her. 

"I don't care if you got if from the Duke of Emelan, get if off now!" cried Bryanna in fear and anger of equal measures. "There's something horribly wrong with those, Randy, I can feel it..."

"You're lying," snapped Randy as he gathered them back up and put them loose in his saddlebags, cleaning up the bits of what was left of the box and leaving them in a pile on the table. Crossing over to stand in her face, he leaned closer as she backed up to get away from the medallion that hung about his neck. "What, afraid?"

"Not of you," she sneered, "But you couldn't get me to willingly touch one of those thing for my life."

"Enough!" thundered Olivia who'd simply watched since Bryanna had leapt from her side to Randy's throat until now. "Randy, get those things at least out of this room right now. I don't like them anymore than she does. And Bryanna, that will be enough accusations of being a traitor for tonight, understand? Both of you go in another room, and do not speak to each until you can do so as civilized adults!"

Randy gathered his saddlebags and stalked out, Bryanna sagging against the wall once he was gone and the medallions with him. "You going to be ok?" asked Olivia as she eyed her for a moment, preparing to head back to the task she'd been doing originally. 

"I...think so," replied Bryanna after a few moments hesitation. "Those medallions, Olivia....they're evil, I swear...."

"We'll work it out later," cut in Olivia as she brusquely helped Bryanna to her bed and made her lay down. "Just get some rest, ok?"

"Ok."

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Kristen stood side by side with Matt, copying his every move as he went through a drill set for her to learn. Foil in hand, neither wore any of the protective armor for they hadn't actually faced off with each other yet, and the blades were extremely dulled and blunt-tipped. You could kill someone with them, but you had a greater chance of beating them to death with the hilt rather than stabbing them with the tip. 

"Put more weight on your back foot, and lean ever so slightly forward," corrected Matt as he fell out and had her do it on her own. "Straighten that wrist and make sure your grip is right....the rapier will do nothing for you if you let it slip from your fingers the first time you block with it."

"Sorry for not being perfect," replied Kristen tartly. "See, this why I never fenced with you and Amanda or Brenna with the wooden swords, you guys would've killed me in a heartbeat."

"Bruised you a bit, yeah, killed, no," he replied with a smirk. "And as much as Amanda bugged you to try it, doubt she would've had the heart to land a blow on you if you had tried it period."

Kristen rolled her eyes. "She smacked me on the arm enough times."

"Yeah, but you probably deserved those." He came around it front of her, bringing his own blade up again. "Ok, I'm going to do the opposite drill you're doing, so every time I strike you block, and every time you strike I block, ok?"

Kristen, though dubious, went back to the first position and nodded she was ready to start. Trading blows slowly back and force in the usual strike-and-block pattern, she firmly blocked each of his blows but her retaliations where weak and spiritless.

"Come on, Kristen, put some muscle in it!" taunted Matt as he put a bit more power in his own blade so it jarred her arm ever so slightly. "This is pathetic, you know. I know you have more strength than this, I've seen you throw some of your students who were my size while sparring. Com on, already!!"

"But....I don't want to hurt anyone..." protested Kristen as she continued on, her blows as hesitant as ever. "Besides, I know you have enough control not to hit me if I don't block. But you're not wearing a face mask and I would feel really bad if I broke your nose doing this..."

"I'd be a very poor fencer indeed if I couldn't block a stray hit from one of my students every now and again, wouldn't it?" teased Matt as he ran a hand through his fluffy hair. "Come on, just a little bit more muscle in it, like you mean it or something. Heck, pretend I'm Sir 'Loveboy', that aught to give you enough reason to try and get a shot in." Closing his eyes confidently, he didn't notice the way her eyes suddenly narrowed. "Ok, let's start again..."

*swish*

*SNAP*

"Uh...." One very scared weapons instructor gulped as Kristen's blade prodded ever so slightly harder at his throat. She'd struck far harder and faster than he'd anticipated, and in his belated reaction had actually snapped his practice blade in half. "K...Kristen...?"

"Don't offer to stand in that idiot's place if you're not willing to face a rather...annoyed me," she stated flatly, drawing back and putting the blade she'd used on the rack. "I have a class to teach."

"Ok....." Matt sat down where he was standing as she left and looked at the broken practice blade he still held in his hands. This might be a bit harder than he thought.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Ben stood obediently by the huge tub in the kitchen, up to his elbows in suds and water as he scrubbed the dishes from dinner that night until they sparkled and shined, rinsing them in another nearby before handing it to another servant who dried and polished it all before putting it away. 

Usually the kitchen was quiet after dinner, everyone sedated and full from feeding off the main table's remains, which there was normally a great deal of. But for once it buzzed with a hushed activity, people coming in every few minutes from another part of the house with some bit of information that had yet to be heard.

"...grooms said the horse was exhausted..." Ben overhead one man say as he shared a quick drink from the barrel of coarse beer the servants were allowed. "...been running....swamp and back..."

"His Lordship wasn't worried," another cut in with a growl. "Whatever it be...he's not worried."

"Peace, na, Gus," chided the Cook quickly. "Should 'e 'ear ya...t'would be bad for all of us, ya know."

"Yar, ye be right, but still..."

"'Nother messenger spotted, mum," said one of the serving boys as he slipped up beside the cook, who'd taken him as her own when he'd been found on the doorstep a few years back. "Sal said he'd be in 'nother hour or so."

"What in tarnation could it be?" grumped one of the old menservants, rubbing his aching joints slowly as others turned to listen to him respectfully. Of all the servants and slaves, he'd been there the longest. "Shurri defend me, anyone can see this land holds nothing of value and the lord is not nearly as wealthy as he plays to be."

"Well, t'ain't 'nother black mage fellar, that's fer sure," replied one of the guardsmen who'd been a servant before showing his skill with a sword and somehow wrangling for himself a promotion. Not that he was paid more, but everyone know the guards got better living quarters and respect from others in town. The servants might as well have been street trash in the townspeople's eyes, most of the time. "He ate his sup well'nuff, and last time t'was wanna them folk he dinna eat for a week."

"Aye, he's got hisself a point there."

"Heyla, if anyone cares to know they've just sent out one of _them,_" said the groom someone had spoken of earlier, trying to act indifferent though his face was white as a sheet and his hands shook ever so slightly as someone handed him a pint of beer.

The Cook covered her mouth with a gnarled hand. "Ya be jokin', Farlen, ya 'ave ta be..."

"Na, I'm not," he replied softly. "The gates've been closed for now...and guards told not to let a soul in or out before sunrise...I pity the stranger found out there without shelter, I do."

"Come, youngling," said Nana as she appeared suddenly, the kitchen quieting at her appearance. "You're wanted elsewhere..." She shooed him out a side door, then paused and looked at the others. "Enough talk," she said firmly, most getting up and scattering to their various rooms as well. "Walls have ears and doors eyes...get on before one of them reports back to his Lordship and we're all whipped for it!"

"What're they talking about?" asked Ben as he let himself be led back to his room. "Who is _them?_"

"No one that concerns you, thankfully," replied Nana softly as she pushed him in his room and closed the door behind him. "Good night, little one."

Ben sighed and accepted the fact that she wasn't going to tell him. At least not yet. "Night, Nana!"

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And that would be chapter 11. Hope you enjoyed it, and once again sorry for the wait. Maybe with the ending of marching band in sight more updates shall appear. ^_^ Review, it's the kind thing to do!! 

~CB~


	12. 

Chapter 12!! And here come regular updates again...yes!! My marching band season is almost over, school's in a bit of a lull, and time is no longer of the essence when it comes to the many, many projects I have. Life is good, therefore I have given you a good chapter. Enjoy! ^_^            %~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Cam dreamed happily of mounds of books being shared with his favorite older cousin who shared her chocolate with him and made the other meany boys leave him alone. Waking contentedly, he looked up towards the window in his room...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"

A blur that might've been Cam streaked out into the hall and down to Kristen's room, hiding under her bed as Kristen was rather rudely awakened by the commotion and sat up slowly. 

"This had better be good," she growled as she looked at Cam shaking under her bed, watching as he pointed out the door towards her room. "This is way to early for any sane person to be up..."

Getting up and tossing on an over tunic to go with her worn pants and shirt, she found Mike laughing gleefully to himself as he unhooked the stuffed snake he'd rigged next to Cam's window with wires and string. 

"Morning!" he said happily as he coiled the last of it up and placed it in the bag he'd brought with him. "Hope you slept well...uh...Kristen?"

The said person was slowly raising their hands over their head, a large meat cleaver appearing out of nowhere as she suddenly grew fangs and her eyes took on a devilish, red gleam. 

"You know..." Mike gulped as she began to advance on him slowly. "I think...I'm gonna go now!"

"DIE!!!!"

"PLEASE DON"T KILL ME!!!!!"

A mad dash followed until Mike crashed into Matt and then ducked behind for shelter, the latter looking up with round eyes as he saw the arch of metal coming down towards him. 

"EEP!!" Matt jumped back just in time, the cleaver ending up a few scant inches from his manhood in relation to where he'd landed. "Oh, that was close..."

"Don't get in my way if you don't want to get hurt!" snarled Kristen as she pulled the weapon out of the wood and continued down the hall at a sprint for Mike who'd taken off again the moment her attention was diverted ever so slightly. "GET BACK HERE, YOU MORON SO I CAN KILL YOU AND BE DONE WITH IT!!"

"I THOUGHT YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE IN MURDER!!" cried Mike over his shoulder as he slid down the ladder and into the kitchen.

"I'M MAKING AN EXCEPTION JUST FOR YOU!!"

"REALLY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO...!!!"

"I INSIST!!!"

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"

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Briteyes wandered through the temple grounds, being let in by the guards who'd recognized her immediately and pointed towards Discipline Cottage as always. Something compelled her on, her mind haunted by the images of the slaughter at the camp and the look on her brother's face as she was unable to protect him any longer, knowing it wasn't enough for her revenge and her spirit broken to the point that it seemed it no longer mattered.

She wore only a shirt and pants, her boots long since taken by the swamp in her battle with it and the other clothes she might've had left having been torn into strips to bind her small, but numerous wounds with. Her feet were bound in cloth too, just enough to protect them from the burs and sharp rocks that littered the roadside. Her bladed staff, the blade itself wrapped in heavy canvas she'd managed to purloin along the way, was the only thing she carried with her besides the clothes, the last remaining clue of what she'd gone to do.

"Briteyes?" The young woman looked up just in time before she was engulfed in a huge hug, a woman's arms wrapped around her tightly. "You're back!!"

"Of course, Lark," replied Briteyes automatically as she recognized the voice and hugged the woman back, a very, very thin smile forcing its way on her lips. "I promised I'd come back, didn't I?"

"I know, but still..." Briteyes loosened herself from her friend's embrace and whistled towards the house, a hopeful look on her face as she did. Seconds later a streak of silver came charging out, followed by a very confused Rosethorn who has obviously come from the garden in the back.

"Mila, she just took off like the wind!" the dirt-covered dedicate exclaimed as she came up to Lark's side, panting ever so slightly. "Whatever got into that beast..."

"Rosie," interrupted Lark gently as she turned the other dedicate towards where Briteyes now sat on the ground, her squirrel cradled gently in her hands as the small creature hung around her neck for dear life. "She's come back."

Rosethorn's face looked surprised, then relieved as she let Lark lead her over to Briteyes and help the performer to her feet, the three of them and the squirrel all exchanging more hugs and greetings before taking it all back to the cottage where they could talk over a warm cup of tea.

"Goodness, you've gotten thin," clucked Lark as she busied her way through the small kitchen, Rosethorn sitting in her usual seat as she observed the young woman under her eyes where she sat on one of the side benches. "Come, now, it's close enough to noon that we might as well have our meal now and get you some proper meat on your bones again."

"I have meat on my bones," replied Briteyes lightly. "It's just very stringy and tough."

#You look like you've just woken up from a winter's sleep# chattered Silven, Briteyes chuckling at this but keeping the comment to herself as she did. #Though I'm still not happy that you left me behind...at least you had the sense to return alive and well!#

Rosethorn murmured thanks to Lark as a mug of tea as set before her, still intent upon watching the performer as she did. Something was very different about her, and not quite right. She ate the food Lark set before her without complaint, or praise either. From what the Dedicate remembered, the performer had loved to eat and praised Lark's soups and breads many, many times. However, now she ate without relish, merely placing each bite in her mouth for the sole purpose of keeping herself relatively healthy. That wasn't the Briteyes she'd known before, and it worried her to be honest.

Silven watched her friend as well, noting the different nuances in her voice as she spoke and how she reacted so...distantly to everything around her. Rosethorn and Lark were dears, and she'd gotten to care for them while they'd 'taken care' of her here, but she could no more approach them about this than she could talk. She'd have to find a way to get to Dedicate Moonstream, and soon.

"So, you're business out there is finished?" asked Rosethorn out of the blue, a hush falling over the room for a moment as everything went still.

"I will not be going back out for it again," came the hesitant reply.

"Then...you know for sure?"

Briteyes rose suddenly, her eyes down cast as she took her pole arm where it had been set in a corner and headed for the stairs now. "I am tired and need rest. Please excuse me."

"Of course, dear." Lark and Rosethorn exchanged worried glances as Silven sat there on the table, tail twitching sadly. No, something was definitely not right.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Brenna and Libby walked side by side along the faint paths of the woods, gathering any and all plants they found that might somehow be useable either by the guide Brenna carried with her or just hope that it might be useful in someway. Plant life itself was rather scarce, spring having barely begun so soon after winter in these parts and only the hardiest of the plants up from their long winter sleep.

"I still want a pink found," sighed Libby as she stuck out her bottom lip remorsefully.

"I swear, you have the cutest puppy eyes when you do that," replied Brenna with a teasing grin.

"I do not!" replied Libby indignantly, screwing up her face into a scowl as she shook a fist at Brenna as if to threaten her. "Never!"

"But you do, really!" exclaimed Brenna as she help up her hands as if proclaiming her innocence. "Especially now, you look like a puppy who's trying to be all big and tough but is really too sweet inside to do a think about it..."

"Hey!! I am not!! I'm mean, and tough, and cruel, and downright nasty sometimes..."

"Nasty mean and nasty....otherwise are not the same things dear," coughed Brenna as she rolled her eyes. "As I'm sure Darrel would agree..."

"I DID NOT HAVE-" Libby slapped her hands over her own mouth as she glared at Brenna angrily.

"I have to say, I haven't gotten you that close to saying it in quite a long, long time," laughed Brenna as she dodged back out of Libby's hitting range. "Please don't hurt me..."

"Schmoo," grumped Libby, crossing her arms over her ample chest as they tramped onwards, picking bits of flowers and plants along the way without ever taking the whole thing so it might grow back and have more to give later on.

They'd just started walking back when Libby pounced to the side with a cry of delight, Brenna close behind in puzzlement as Libby yanked something root and all out of the earth and stood there snuggling it to her chest, a completely content look on her face. 

"What's going on?" asked Brenna, still confused as Libby went into a round of cute happy dances. 

"Look!!" cried Libby, holding the plant she'd picked before her like it was the most wonderful thing in the entire country, and perhaps planet. It was a flower with a deep, emerald green stem and leaves and (most importantly) bubblegum pink flowers all over it. "Isn't it wonderful?? Can you make some dye from it?? Huh?? Huh??"

"I don't know," admitted Brenna as she took it from her, examining it carefully. "Maybe..."

"YEAH!!" Libby leapt for joy and turned back down the path skipping merrily along the way. "I'm gonna dye my bed sheets and the curtains and some of my clothes and maybe a pillow or two and some towels and if it sticks on leather all my tack for when I go riding..."

Brenna just sighed as she listened to her friend go on and on and on. This was going to be interesting indeed.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

The three mage students were on the road again, Bryanna and Randy riding on opposite sides as Olivia suffered through another day of sitting in the middle of them. Things were more on edge than ever since Bryanna had discovered the medallions, with both groups becoming even more stubborn than ever in their assurance that it was they, and not the other person, who was right in their reaction only. She'd talked to them both time and time again, but nothing, not even the threat of turning them into living ice statues had enough of an effect to get them to break their silence and hopefully reach some sort of a truce. Even if they'd stop sending poisonous glares at each other for awhile, that would be enough for at least a few months. After all, toleration was acceptable, right? Why the heck couldn't they just do that instead of dragging this affair out for weeks on end...

The fact that Randy had kept the medallions, though, and now openly wore his around his neck did not help the situation in the least either. Bryanna was terrified to death of them for some reason, and found it more impossible than even if she was even in the same room as one of them to concentrate so much as to even heal a simple scrape. 

Their next stop was a small town that was rather out of the way, and this time not for teachers but instead some rare mage's supplies like the other elements Olivia used to make her mage's ice or Randy his fireworks that were supposedly in large, and cheap supply. Anything that might lower the cost of living for them was accepted immediately, and thus they were headed for this particular small town. 

Olivia sighed as she glanced from one to the other. Randy was slouching in his saddle, a sulky look on his face as he messed mindlessly with the disk that hung around his neck. Bryanna was riding straight and smoothly as she always did, but she kept her horse as far way from theirs as she could and had to force herself not to glance over and stare at the medallion every few moments. It was insane, and she had no way of escaping from it right at that moment. 

Though she'd rather enjoyed going to another realm and getting magic and all, there were times like this that she wished more than ever that she could just go home and sleep until it all went away....that sounded very nice indeed.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

The Traders each helped to direct the loading of their ship at the next dock, each person looking over another part of the hold as it was filled completely full of goods and trade items for the first time ever. Trevor had found out the market for some of their original items was very rare, and striking the best deal they could've hoped for in such a place they'd roughly doubled their money already from this one port alone. If all their trades went this well, they might be able to purchase another ship and crew in less than a year!

Tanner, as eager as a child as he rushed about the deck, was completely for their decision to reinvest the money right away and buy more goods that always sold well a few ports to the north. Shouting directions, and scolding the extra hired hands when they dropped a box or was careless with a crate, he was everywhere at once and had a hand in everything that was happening on board that ship all at the same time. 

Neither of his brothers shared his enthusiasm, though. At least not to his extent, anyways. Tyler thought it might be a good opportunity if they'd invested part of the money back in the ship, but not all of it. He may have only been an older boy at best, but he'd been around ships and trading all his life, it was in his blood, and he was rather cautious at times over things like that when it came right down to it. 

Trevor hadn't wanted them to put the money right back into more cargo at all, he'd wanted to save it and use it to put in a fund for later emergencies. While he knew Nicole was a very powerful _mirimander_, or wind mage to his people, he couldn't help but think that if a storm large enough came by it would take a good bit of wear and tear on the ship before they'd get free of it, right? They'd need money to fix the ship, and only by putting money in reserve could they be sure it would be there when the time came and it was needed. 

Jack, of course, was un-opinionated as usual, so whatever he thought about it was completely irrelevant or just plain didn't matter.

Jenny, Gwen, and Nicole were of a like mind that right now, what they cared about most was they would be heading NORTH out of the dreadful heat that had begun to well up from the south as spring there quickly began to turn to summer just a few moons into the new year. None of them cared for the heat in any real way, shape, or form and while Nicole could use her breezes to keep herself cool, she much preferred a cool wind to a stiflingly warm one and the sooner they headed north back towards Summersea, the sooner she'd find them again.

The ship, floating a littler lower than it had before, sailed at sunset back north and towards the slightly milder summers they hoped to find up around there for a few months at least before the true heat of summer began to set it. Fully filled with cargo, supplies, and goods that they themselves used, they were ready for anything. 

Or, at least that's what they thought.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Alyse ducked into the band room, so intent upon getting to her locker and getting her clarinet out at warp speed that she hardly noticed what the others were doing around her. Dressed in her usual jeans and tee-shirt, she'd let her long, straight black hair hang free for once. They were supposed to be in a Wind Ensemble rehearsal right now, and she was going to be late if she didn't hurry...

"Miss Schuver!"

"Hm?" Alyse looked up to see Mr. Payne standing there, his usual genial look on his face. A young man stood beside him who was about her age, holding a bass clarinet in one hand and some music books in the other. "Mr. Payne! I'm sorry I'm late, really! We got stuck in traffic and my mom was sick this morning so..."

"You didn't get the phone master message?" asked Mr. Payne, his eyebrows raised ever so slightly in surprise. "The practice was delayed an hour due to some extenuating circumstances, so since you have some free time I was wondering if you could take this fine young man here who's just moved here to North Carolina and show him around a bit."

"But, I uh..." Alyse scratched her nose and then sighed. Looks like she wasn't going to get out of this one. "Sure, I can do that."

"Thank you for your cooperation!" Mr. Payne gave her his usual slight bow/childish smile combination. "Alyse, this is Landon Taver and he's just moved here from Wales."

"Nice to meet you," said the young man as he nodded politely, his voice a light tenor that matched his open face and mischievous sky blue eyes perfectly. His hair was black and very short, but silky just the same and she had to ball her hands into fists to keep from running one through it just to see what it would feel like. 

"Landon, this is Alyse Schuver, a Senior like you who plays clarinet it the Wind Ensemble," said Mr. Payne as he backed up a step. "Thank you again, Alyse. I have to get going, though, so if you would kindly take him by to see Amanda to get him a uniform as well as perhaps show him where his classes will be his first day of school, I would be most grateful indeed."

"We'll go there right now," replied Alyse with a half smile. "It's nice to meet you too, Landon. Come on, the extra time will probably have put Amanda in a better mood than usual, so it'd be best to get this over with now instead of later."

"The uniform, you mean?" he asked as he placed the bass clarinet and music in the locker he'd been given and Alyse put her own instrument up as well. "What is it used for, exactly? We wore uniforms to school everyday back home, but Mr. Payne seemed to imply they're only for 'special occasions'?"

"They're what we perform in," explained Alyse with a light shrug. "They're made to look like tuxedoes when worn one way and regular marching band uniforms when another. We, of course, use the tuxedo version. It's not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it looks good from the audience and that's all Payne cares about."

"'Payne'?" asked Landon, frowning as he did. "You act so very familiar with him, is that the way all the students here are with him?"

"Most are," admitted Alyse, heading out the door and towards the uniform room in the back. "He doesn't take it as disrespect, and actually encourages us to treat him as one of us. Obviously there are times when treating him like that are completely inappropriate, but most of them are pretty good about figuring when it's ok and when it's not."

"I hope that I will learn quickly, then," he said with a smile as they walked into the empty, and rather messed up uniform room. "He seems like a very nice teacher...not like my old director at all."

"Amanda?" called Alyse as they walked in, checking behind the racks and then back outside the door in confusion as Landon watched her from where she'd sat him on a stool at the door. "Where in the world did she go, she never leaves the uniform room while she's got work to do..."

"Who is this Amanda you speak of?" asked Landon as she stood there for a moment in thought, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Is she a teacher, like Mr. Payne, whom you are informal with or a student like us?"

"She's a student who graduated last year and comes back to help every now and then," replied Alyse as she checked among the notes tacked to the wall to see if Amanda had mentioned leaving for somewhere or she'd had some other task that had called her away shortly. Finding nothing, she muttered to herself under her breath and then sighed. "Stay here," she ordered Landon, picking up the keys she found by the door and heading out into the main room again. "I'll be right back, ok? If Amanda comes, tell her I went to go get something with her keys. If someone asks why you're in here, just tell them who you are and that you have permission, ok?"

"Alright." He smiled as she left, getting up and poking about the room a bit as he pulled out a uniform and studied it curiously. Alyse had been right, it didn't look like it would be very comfortable at all, but they did all look the same and he could imagine at a distance the effect would be...well blended together. 

Tripping over something he hadn't noticed was there while hanging the uniform back up, he looked down and spotted an old, leather bound volume of sorts. Being bookish by nature, generally those of some sort of fantasy, he picked it up and studied the cover more carefully, turning it over and over in his hands before opening it and looking at the first few pages. Beautiful, colored pictures of those he assumed were the characters were interspersed with the text, and he was about to settle down and read it when someone called his name.

"Landon?" 

"In here still!" he called back, taking the book with him as Alyse found him and grabbed his arm. "Wait, I found this really neat-"

"Show it to me later, Mr. Hough just got back and wants you to play for him," cut in Alyse.

"Oh...ok, then." Landon shut the book just as the reached the door to go back out into the main room, the fateful flash of light appearing with the two young people disappearing as always. 

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Please tell me this is the last of them," muttered Gretchen as she watched Devan to through his usual round of gleeful dances at having more people brought in.

"Of course," he replied indignantly, sticking his tongue out at her childishly. "Now, what in the world shall I do with them...?"

Gretchen suddenly smiled, a light bulb popping up over her head. "Hey, why don't you....*whisperwhisperwhisper*. Hm?"

Devan's own smiled widened considerably. "I like it! Now down to business..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Mike quietly snuck through the house, wincing as the bruises he'd gained from dodging Kristen's cleaver for an hour to so made themselves known again and again. Making sure no one else was home, he snuck up behind Cam and blindfolded him quickly, but not roughly.

"Hey, what's going?!!" cried Cam as he tried to fight back, Mike managing to get the blindfold on and his hands trapped at his sides before he could so much as squeak. "Mike, I'll tell Kristen if that's you..."

"It is me, brat, but she told me to do this to you," he said sarcastically as if he really didn't want to be doing this at the moment. "They have a surprise for you upstairs, and want for you to go up blindfolded to see it."

"They what?? What is it??"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" replied Mike lightly, rolling his eyes. "Come on, up you go. They'll be waiting for you, you know."

"Alright, alright..."

Mike carefully guided the younger boy up the ladder and then down to Jon's room, using the ladder he had there to lead Cam up onto the roof.

"Wait, we're outside!" protested Cam as he stopped suddenly when he felt a cool breeze. "What's going on, Mike??"

"They're on the flat part of the room where we go and stargaze sometimes, ok?" he amended quickly. "Come on, they're waiting just for you..."

"Well...ok, if you're sure."

Mike chuckled to himself. "I am." Leading him farther on, he quickly crossed the top of the narrow, covered walkway which connected the two buildings and with Cam in front of him and onto the steep, slanted roof of the training complex. 

"Mike..." said Cam warningly as he suddenly felt him let go and back off quickly. "Mike, what's going on?!"

"Take off your blindfold and see," replied Mike as he quickly scampered his way back across the walkway cover and to the entrance to Jon's room from the roof. 

"I'm not sure I want to..." Cam did so anyways, freezing in a slightly crouched position as he tried to lower his center of balance without actually getting off his feet as quickly as possible. "AHH!! Mikegetmedowngetmedowngetmedown!!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!! Getmedowngetmedowngetmedowngetmedown!!! PLEASE GET ME DOWN!!!!"

"Nope," replied Mike with a shrug as he went back into the house with a wave. "Kristen will be home soon, get her to help you down."

"BUT I CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG!!"

"Sure you can," replied Mike with a smile as he disappeared from view with absolutely no intention of showing his face anywhere in the house for the next few weeks. Matt could take care of his classes and he didn't exactly have any responsibilities around the house except his own room, so he wouldn't be terribly missed.

Kristen, right on time as usual, walked up to the house a few moments later, a basket of meat and bread over one arm and a net of fresh vegetables in the other. Humming to herself as usual, she let herself in the gate and looked up, expecting to see the sun shining of their wonderful new home...and instead saw a scared to death Cam clinging to the top of the roof for his life!

"CAM!!" she cried, dropping her things by the front door and jogging over to the edge of the two-story building as quickly as she could. "CAM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"MIKE LET ME UP HERE, HE TRICKED ME!!" Cam sobbed back, obviously in the middle of some sort of a mental break down due to his current state. "KRISTEN, PLEASEGETMEDOWNPLEASEGETMEDOWN!!!"

"I'm coming!!" Kristen yelled back, heading for the door as fast as she could. "Just hang on!"

"I AM!!!"

Kristen, as faithful as ever, rushed onto the roof and had just reached the edge where she had to walk across the cover of the walkway to get to Cam when it hit her...she was every bit afraid of heights as he was. 

Going to her knees instinctively, she gulped as she peered over the edge of the roof for a moment and then jerked back, her head dizzy already from glancing at the ground below. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no..."

"Hurry, Kristen!!" sobbed Cam even harder, the tears flowing freely down his face to soak the neck of his shirt. "Please, you gotta hurry!!"

"I...uh...I'm coming just...I'm coming, I swear!! I just...ah...eh..." Kristen gulped again then began to crawl forward slowly, every part of her body tense as she tried to remain balanced on the arduous journey across. Halfway there her hand slipped to the side and Kristen found herself staring at the ground below, panic seizing her heart and freezing her body where it was as she tried to even just breath at this point. "Oh my gosh..."

Someone touched her shoulder suddenly, making her jump with a start that nearly sent her tumbling over the edge had she not caught herself in time.

"Easy," said a familiar voice, the same hand as before taking her wrist and helping her to her feet. "Come on, just go backwards the way you came..." Kristen looked up and saw Jon, dressed as sloppily as usual, with a serious look on his face for once. Nodding once, she began to back up very slowly and very carefully while keeping her eyes on his shirt collar the whole time. "There you go, just a step at a time...there. You good now?"

Kristen nodded and motioned to Cam as she sat back on the platform Jon had built into the roof for stargazing and such. "Just go get him, ok?"

"Alright, I'll be right back."

"Ok."

He walked across the cover of the walkway as surely as if he'd been on solid ground, gently helping Cam who had been reduced to mere whimpers to his feet and then onto his back, Jon carrying him across and setting him next to Kristen where he collapsed into her lap sobbing again.

"Oh Cam...relax, it's over now, see? You're safe..." Kristen clumsily put her arms around him and did her best to rock him back and forth, feeling somewhat awkward as she did but going on with it just the same. After awhile he stopped and looked up, Kristen messing his hair up affectionately as he self consciously wiped his tears away with his sleeve. "There, that's better. I guess I'm going to have to thank Jon here for getting you down for me..." 

They both turned and looked behind them, expecting to see him standing there with his usual, cocking grin...but he was gone.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Briteyes sat up gasping again in the middle of the night, immediately getting up and going out to the roof as she tried to sort through the hundred of images that continued to bombard her mind. The faces of those she'd left dead, no one smeared with their own blood but then also this blackness, darkness, that seemed to eat away at them from the inside out...she'd wake with a silent scream, her throat raw from keeping them inside. What did this all mean? She hadn't gone a night without spending half of it awake from nightmares and it got worse as each night progressed. Eventually she'd go back to sleep and begin to dream again, about something completely random and calm until those pictures and memories began to invade again and repeat the process all over again.

Shivering in the cool night air as the sweat as quickly absorbed into the winds, she sighed and closed her eyes wearily. Finding it all to cold all of a sudden she went back inside, climbing down the ladder to the attic, taking the stairs to the kitchen and then into the side room where the fireplace and library was. Picking out a random book she began to read, sitting by a window where the moonlight poured into the room until dawn when Rosethorn found her sitting there still and worriedly shooed her back upstairs to get dressed for the day. 

#Where were you this morning?!# demanded Silven as she slowly dressed, her limbs like lead and head feeling as if she were just a passenger in her body rather than in complete control of it. #You always sleep late when given half a chance...#

"Couldn't sleep," came the flat, automatic response. 

#Where were you, though?? I checked the roof, and couldn't get out of the attic 'cuz someone closed the door...#

"I was downstairs, ok?" Briteyes turned away from her and headed for the stairs, arriving in the kitchen moments later as a worried Silven scampered along behind. Unusually silent, she ate her meal with the two dedicates and then excused herself from the table, going back up to the roof  to lay there motionlessly except to occasionally play the simple reed flute she'd brought with her. 

Silven watched her leave for the roof and sighed, staying there and nibbling worriedly on the remnants of a scone Briteyes had consumed moments before. 

"You're worried too, aren't you?" asked Lark as she scratched the rodent behind the ears gently, scooping her up and cradling her to her chest. "Rosethorn, I really think something is wrong with Briteyes. This isn't like her, to remain completely...motionless all day and then staying up most of the night wandering around like a zombie."

"I'm not a Mind Healer, how can we be sure?" replied Rosethorn, though even she knew her voice held a note of doubt. "I suppose we could take it to the Honored Moonstream, if you really think we should..."

"I do," replied Lark with a firm nod. "Go and fetch her, will you Silven? I'm sure she remembers you."

Silven nodded and whisked herself out of the cottage, leaving the two dedicates sitting together at the kitchen table. 

"I swear, that little beast acts less like an animal and more like a human everyday," murmured Rosethorn to herself, before shrugging helplessly. "Lark, I completely agree that Brite is acting...strange, but considering what she's probably been through...did you look at her pole arm? It was caked with blood and some other stuff I'd rather not name."

"Regardless of what she's been through, I think she'd tell of us if she were in complete control and something were wrong," replied Lark cautiously. "Remember last time? She was willing to lean on us then..."

"She had little choice," Rosethorn reminded her dourly. "It was that or fall to the ground as she tried to hobble her way to the outhouse."

"Rosie, you know what I mean..."

Someone knocked on the door right then and Lark rose to answer it, the Honored First Dedicate Moonstream slipping in and closing the door firmly behind her, the silver squirrel perched on her shoulder. "Silven tells me you wanted to see me?"

"Uh, yes," replied Lark, puzzled by her choice of words. "Would you like some tea?"

"No, thank you," replied Moonstream as she sat down on one of the benches at the table and Lark went back to her stool. "Briteyes is back, though?"

"She is," replied Lark quickly. "But...something's very wrong, Dedicate Moonstream."

Moonstream frowned. "She's not hurt again, is she?"

"Not physically," explained Rosethorn carefully. "Physically she has a few scrapes and scratches, perhaps a shallow cut at best and bruises to match it, but she's been acting very strangely..."

"How so?"

"She's....distant, disconnected from the real world, almost," murmured Lark distractedly, a far away look in her eyes. "She hasn't said as much, but I can tell she doesn't sleep very much at night and spends the days lying and walking about like a...shell of what she once was. Like she's lost some important part of herself while she was gone, something that affected her even more than the loss of her brother."

"Hm..." Moonstream frowned in worry as she folded her hands neatly before herself. "I must go take care of something, but I will be back soon and I wish to speak with Briteyes. Make sure she doesn't leave, ok?"

"We will," promised Rosethorn with a nod as she rose and bowed as Lark did as the Honored Dedicate rose to her own feet and headed out the front door. "I hope she can set our friend straight."

"As do I," added Lark, sipping her tea slowly as Silven came and curled on her shoulder, petting the small creature absently. "It's the only hope we've really got."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Brenna had fun as she ground the different plants into powders or pulps that she then formed into cakes or placed in separate pouches before she began her experimenting with them. Placing them in waters for bases most of the time, and occasionally pure alcohol when she found one that wouldn't mix with water, she began her trials and such, tossing out dyes that did her little good and keeping those colors that those she and others in the house found appealing in one way or another.

Grinding up the flowers Libby had found, she found they only worked with alcohol and then began her dying experiments with them, coming up with a very color fast bubblegum pink that wouldn't fade in the sunlight, wouldn't wash out with water, and took to the fabric so well that not she or anyone else could tell that the pink wasn't its original color. 

Libby, becoming exceedingly excited over this new development, stole some of her pre-made dye and snuck it out to the barn, determined to try for herself to see if it would work and hold as well as Brenna had claimed it would. Taking one of the older, more mild-mannered horses out of his stall, she tied him to a post in the middle and bundled his tail up in a ball, dunking it in the dye and letting it set for a moment, taking it out a moment later and (making sure none got on her or her hands) let it back out and rinsed it with fresh water from the well, doing so again and again until the water ran clean and all the excess dye was gone. 

Bringing the fine hair o the horse's tail close to her face, she noted that each and every strand had been dyed the bright pink, perfectly done to the point that she couldn't tell the hair hadn't been pink all along all the way to the root. In fact, she was sure she hadn't taken it all the way to the root and was slightly puzzled as to how it had gotten there regardless. Deciding such information was trivial, she hugged the dye to her chest and squealed with joy. Next to be dyed pink with this stuff: her BUNNIES!!

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Bryanna?" called Olivia as she stuck her head into her friend's new room, each of them lucking having gotten their own room for their stay here. 

"Right here," replied Bryanna from the corner where she sat at the desk behind a mound of books and texts she'd borrowed from the library. "Do you need something, Olivia?"

"Just to talk to you." Olivia sat on the bed and crossed her legs, Bryanna looking up in surprise and pushing away from the desk so she was in full view. 

"Oh...uh, what about?" 

"Well, I thought why we can't all just get along would be a good place to start," said Olivia flatly. Holding up her hands to cut off Bryanna's protests, she went on. "I know these last few weeks, maybe even months, have been rough and Randy hasn't made the best of choices, but he is male, you have to remember that. They're not the brightest crayons in the box."

"Maybe," replied Bryanna sourly. "But not only is he the crayon that the dog chewed on and then got ground into the carpet, he did it to himself on purpose!"

"Now that's being a little unfair," Olivia chided her with a pointed look. "He may've had a hand in it, but I doubt Randy planned for all of this to happen. You know he couldn't hurt a fly on purpose if his life depended on it."

"Yeah, except I'm not exactly a fly, am I?" retorted Bryanna shortly. "Look, Olivia, I'm sorry you got stuck in the middle of all this, I really truly am. But I have no intention of giving to that little fat bastard just because things are a little rough for you right now. You don't know what it's like when I have to stand near him and know that he's got that...thing around his neck. It makes me want to crawl in a hole and never come out until I know for sure it's been destroyed..."

Olivia sighed in annoyance. "You're sure you're not willing to try and talk this out with him? This is why I came to you first, I was kind of hoping you'd be reasonable..."

"Ha, females maybe smarter but that does not mean we're reasonable, you should know that," Bryanna snorted as she pulled her chair back up to her desk. "I have to get back to work, ok?"

"Alright...just, think about what I said, alright? That's all I ask."

Bryanna paused, then nodded. "Alright, I will."

Olivia nodded and got to her feet, heading out the door back to her own rooms. "Thanks."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Tyler paused, poised on the rail of the crows nest at the top of the mainsail as he judged the distance between the rope and himself one last before leaping into the open air and grabbing onto to the rope to swing across the sails of the ship with it. Coming close to another rope, he jumped from the one he was on to a mast, leaping straight from it to the next rope and, coming to the end of his momentum there, let it swing him back and did the whole thing over again.

"RRRRAHHHHH!!" he yelled as he did, finally sliding down one and landing on the deck as surely as a landsman on solid ground. "Hheha!! Man, that felt great..."

"You're gonna fall and break your neck one of these days," commented Jack as he walked by, tossing the boy another coil of rope regardless to add to his fun with a wink as he headed back under the deck to take care of some other small chore. "Just don't do it when I could get pinned with it, alright?"

"Yeah, sure." Tyler eagerly took the rope and slung it over his shoulders, immediately climbing the main mast again to find where the rope would fit best in his course of ropes, sails, and rigs that he flew from one to the other in. "Hm...I could put it over there....or add it right about there, which would mean I wouldn't be jumping straight over the sea, which would be nice...hm..."

"You know, swinging is fun, but flying is so much better," commented Nicole as she suddenly appeared at his side, randomly letting her breezes flit about him so his hair and clothes were ruffled occasionally. 

"Ok, yeah, but there's one small problem here," replied Tyler with a shrug. "Me, a trader who can swing and has no fear of heights. You, a miniature _mirimander _who calls herself a nymph and has pretty much complete control over the winds. Anyone else see difference here?"

"You know, flying isn't completely out of range for you," commented Nicole as she drew her breezes up around herself with a smile. "You don't need your own magic to fly...."

"No, you just need to buy someone else's," replied Tyler with a shrug. "I'm not clever, like some Traders, but by Loki, I'll not spend good silver on a pleasure like that which does my ship no good."

"It won't cost you a cent, I swear!" promised Nicole immediately. "All you have to do is trust me."

"Easy for you to say," shot the Trader boy wryly, his white teeth flashing against his dark skin. "Not so easy for me to do, aye?"

"Aye...but, what would I have to do to get you to trust me?"

"Four silvers aught to do it," shrugged Tyler with a wink. "Maybe five..."

"If you don't like it, I'll give you the silver," said Nicole promptly. "Deal?"

Tyler paused, then nodded. "Deal."

"Okay, then...relax and don't fight it when you start to move, ok?"

"Alright..." Tyler could feel the winds shifting, and then somehow, almost hardening themselves beneath him, making themselves solid enough to lift him slowly and gently from his perch up in the sail to the air above, hanging there for a moment before he began to descend towards the deck, slowly picking up speed with each few inches that he went. 

"Uh...Nicole?" he called as he began to move faster than he'd like, the deck coming closer and closer at an alarming rate. "...NICOLE!!!" Coming within a foot of the deck, he suddenly leveled out and when skimming along it's surface, coming to the rail and going right over it, coming back around to make a low pass over the tops of the cabins before zooming off into the rigging itself.

"You called?" she asked, suddenly appearing on his shoulder as he held himself still and hoped for all he was worth that she wouldn't suddenly lose control and drop him to the sea, or even worse, deck below. 

"What the heck was that for?" he asked angrily as she just giggled and sped them along even faster than before. "You almost killed me, you know!! Another foot, or not even, and I would've been just a smear on the deck!!"

"A very cute smear, but none the less a smear," replied Nicole with a shrug. "You're alive, aren't you? I don't see what you have to be complaining about. I didn't cut it that close, and besides, aren't you having fun??"

Tyler closed his eyes as the wind rushed by, enjoying the feeling of being completely suspended in midair as she took him through a series of gyrations he never could've done swinging on a rope overhead through the riggings and sails.

"I am," he admitted with a smile as he stretched his arms open wide and laughed as they took another dive towards the deck. "Look at me ma...I can FLY!!!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Alyse and Landon appeared in the middle of a huge field, waist-high grasses surrounding them on all sides as Landon sat down hard in amazement and Alyse just blinked a few times. 

"I know they said they have technological wonders in America," murmured Landon as he ran a hand through his hair, crossing his legs Indian-style as he continued to sit on the ground. "But this is beyond anything they've ever told me!! It looked like just an ordinary book, though..."

"This isn't a technological wonder," replied Alyse slowly as she sat down across from him, carefully folding her legs beneath her as she smoothed her long, flowing skirt to the side. Her outfit as a whole consisted of the long, gray skirt that flowed to her ankles, a lighter gray blouse that tucked into it and a leather vest with a belt around it, but trimmed in silver and the main color matching that of the skirt. Her boots, also of the same gray leather, laced up to her knees and she found as she moved to make herself more comfortable that what appeared to be one skirt was actually two, cunningly cut to give her just about as much freedom as a pair of pants. "If it's what I'm thinking, though, it's fairly close..."

"I could swear all of this is real," murmured Landon, who was similarly dressed except his own outfit was of pants and a shirt with the vest over it that was belted securely at the waist, trimmed with the same silver bits and his boots coming halfway up his calves. The gray with his sky blue eyes wasn't a bad match at all, and Alyse had to remind herself to stop staring and gather her wits together once again.

"Tell me what the book said, Landon," ordered Alyse as she looked at him solemnly. "This is very important, ok? What do you remember about the cover of it?"

"It was old and leather bound, one of the best replicas of a medieval volume if not one from that era itself. There was a title on it too....Circle of Magic, I think. There was more, and some author name below it that started with a T....Tansor? Tamsy?"

"Tamora Pierce?" offered Alyse slowly.

"Yeah, that's it!" Landon paused and scratched his nose. "You obviously recognize it, so where are we?"

"Well, we're not in America anymore, that's for sure," replied Alyse ruefully. "Landon, do you believe in magic?"

"Nope," he replied with a shrug. "Can't say I do. I do believe in an overactive imagination, and things like computer games that actually take you inside them, but...I can't say that I believe in magic, per say. Why?"

"Well, m'lad, you are in for a very rude awakening," said a young boy as he suddenly appeared between them, sucking on a candy stick while eyeing Landon curiously. "Name's Devan, boy. Who're you?" Landon just sat there slack jawed, staring up at the boy in total and complete shock.

Alyse stood up quickly and circled around beside Landon as she and the boy studied each other for a moment. "You wouldn't be related to Trystan, would you?" she asked carefully.

"Aye, her little brother," replied Devan with a rueful grin. "Since you've obviously already had her, though, then I'm guessing you probably have a good handle on what's about to happen."

Alyse sighed. "Don't tell me we're the mage-seeker-peoples in this round of it all?" she asked grumpily.

"You are," replied Devan, as cheerful as ever. "And now..." He snapped his fingers, the field disappearing, and a mage's workshop reappearing about them. "It's time to begin your training."

Landon fell over in a dead faint, muttering things under his breath about not getting enough sleep, strange America technologies, and the pressures of moving from one country to another.

Devan nudged him roughly with the toe of his boot. "What's up with him?"

Alyse just sighed.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"We've got a hole in the main building's roof," commented Jon as he walked into the kitchen for a late breakfast, Kristen sitting at the table with a mug of coffee and one of the old books she'd found in the attic of their old place that had to do with defense stances. "Gonna need some help fixing it to....you think you'll be up to it?"

Kristen looked up at him, a blank look on her face. "The roof?"

"Yeah," he replied, glancing up as he got himself a mug of coffee from over the fire. "The roof. You know, the thing that covers us and is about twenty some feet or so off the ground?"

Kristen gulped. "T-twenty some feet?"

"Yeah." Jon took a swig of his drink, then paused with a grin. "Oh...that's right, you're scared of heights..."

"I am not scared!" snapped Kristen as she slammed her book shut and stood quickly, banging her knee on the table as she did so. "I just prefer to stay on solid ground, that's all there is to it."

"Right, you weren't frozen like a statue the other day while Cam was stranded on the other roof," replied Jon lightly, sitting back as he enjoyed making her squirm for once. 

Kristen, having been pushed to her limits for hours that were before noon, grabbed the knife she'd used to slice the bread earlier and held it to his throat. "I'd suggest you forgot that ever happened, Jon..."

"You know you won't kill me with that," replied Jon lightly, though he watched it nervously out of the corner of his eye regardless.

"You're right I won't," replied Kristen. "But that doesn't mean I wouldn't leave a rather nasty mark..." She pressed ever so slightly, just enough to dent the skin without breaking it.

"We could make a deal," offered Jon quickly, holding up his hands in defeat. Kristen backed away and put the knife down, cocking her head to the side as she did.

"Well?"

"I'll help you get over your...difficulty with heights using the course I built, and if you manage to pass it I'll never bug you about it again."

"And if I don't pass it?"

"You have to fight me up there in front of your classes," replied Jon with a confident smirk. "You might be faster and better than I am, but up in the beams you haven't got a chance if you're not sure of what you're doing."

"Ok then...deal." Kristen stuck out her hand and they shook on it, Jon getting up and placing his mug by the sink.

"Meet me out in the other building tomorrow morning," he called over his shoulder as he went. "We start then!"

"Alright..." Kristen sighed as she gulped down the rest of her coffee and prepared herself for the first class in a few moments. What had she gotten herself into this time?

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

_Briteyes writhed in pain and grief and more and more images flooded her mind of what she'd done, those whose lives she'd taken in both her present trip and that one of the past. Screaming, crying, she fought against the bounds of nightmare which held her, yet she was powerless to wake herself..._

#_#_#_#_#

Silven ran a paw over Briteye's brow as she watched her friend with worry. She had been murmuring in her sleep for awhile now, something that usually led to her other nightmares. The squirrel had changed her habits since Briteyes had returned, sleeping during the day and laying awake at night to keep a silent vigil over her restless friend who did naught but turn and toss during those long, dark hours.

Tugging her ear gently, Silven tried to wake her friend as the murmurs turned to soft cries and she began to move as well, her body jerking to and fro with spasms she had no control over, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps as the cries began louder and more hoarse.

The squirrel could do no more than hang on to her neck, calling for her in her mind again and again, but getting no reply in return. 

@_@_@_@_@

Rosethorn lay in her bed, fast asleep as she dreamed of her plants and other green, growing things that pleased her when she was suddenly woken from her sleep by a sharp bite on her hand. 

#STUPID HUMAN, WAKE UP!!!# 

The dedicate sat straight up, her bewildered eyes taking Silven who had falling back from the sudden movement, springing up a moment later and clambering her way up Rosethorn's shoulder as fast as she could to grip her chin with her paws and stare into her eyes. 

#GO TO BRITEYES NOW!! SHE NEEDS YOU!!#

"Wait...what the..."

#_JUST GO!!#_

Rosethorn heard a scream above her and threw back the covers from her bed, running up the stairs with Lark just a few steps behind her as usual. They found Briteyes lying there on her mat, soaked in a cold sweat as she continued to struggle with an unseen foe, the Dedicates each grabbing a limb as they struggled to subdue and wake her somehow.

Silven, as desperate as the other two, leapt back up on the bed and took Briteyes' ear in her paws, opening her mouth wide as she chomped on it hard enough to draw blood. 

"AHHHH!!!" 

The pain accomplished what the rest of their efforts had not, the performer instantly opening her eyes, but then closing them again as she passed out completely, Lark running for Moonstream and Rosethorn staying at her side to make sure her vital signs remained normal for the moment.

"Well, this isn't good," said Devan as he suddenly appeared, rubbing his chin as Trystan appeared as well, a worried look on her face. Rosethorn stared at them in shock, though Silven recognized them immediately, and with a cry of anger launched herself at them with fangs and claws bared.

"Stop behaving like a child," ordered Trystan, catching her in midair with a bit of magic and turning her back to a human with a flick of her wrist. Lyssa landed on the floor with a thump, getting up slowly as she grumbled under her breath about mages who were good for nothing except screwing around with other's lives.

Rosethorn, who'd never seen such a thing happen before in her life, got to her feet and put herself between them and Briteyes, her hackles rising at the thought of three strangers intruding her home. "Who are you?!" she demanded as she prepared her magic in case she needed to use it. "Why have you come here?!"

"We're just mages, like yourselves, only slightly different," replied Devan slowly as he help up his hands as if to defend himself. "I swear, we're only here to help. Amanda...or Briteyes as you know her, is my responsibility while she'd here...and my sister agreed to lend her powers as well in this effort."

"What was with trapping me in that squirrel body?!" demanded Lyssa as she stretched out carefully. "You know, I was just fine with being a human...."

"I thought it'd make things interesting," replied Devan with a light shrug. "And you're going back into it the moment we get this settled, you might as well deal with the fact that you're going to be treated like a pet for the next couple of years."

"You know, I really don't like you..."

"And I really don't care." Devan stuck out his tongue at her, then turned back to Rosethorn, who was still watching them warily. "Now, back to business..."

Moonstream and Lark came in just then, both freezing in their tracks when they saw the other mages. "Lord Devan!" said Moonstream in shock, going into an automatic bow as she did. She glanced at Rosethorn and Lark, who were watching her for a sign of direction. "Go downstairs, you two. Everything's going to be alright now, and I will explain everything when I come downstairs."

"If you're sure," replied Rosethorn hesitantly, letting herself be led away as Lark took her arm and pulled her out of the attic. 

"I am." Moonstream turned to Devan and Trystan, giving both a curt nod before glancing over at Lyssa lightly. "You're Silven, aren't you?"

"My real name's Lyssa," replied the girl turned squirrel turned back human grumpily. "But yeah, I'm her."

"Ah." Moonstream went over to Briteye's bed and laid a hand on her brow, frowning as she ran a magic check through her body with a frown. "This...is not good. She's tainted with something...I've seen it before, but I'm hoping it is not what I think it is..."

"It is," replied Devan gravely as he took a seat on the floor, Trystan doing so as well silently. "It's unmagic." Both no-so-human mages shuddered as he said it, Moonstream glancing at them both in puzzlement. "And, unfortunately....there is very little we can do to stop it."

"If we don't," she'll go mad very soon," whispered Moonstream as she pulled away from the performer, kneeling beside her mat. "What would you have me do? For that matter, what can any of us do?"

"We, unfortunately, can do nothing directly," sighed Devan as Trystan shifted tensely beside him. "Unmagic, even just the tiniest bit....well, we're not exactly human, Moonstream. If it touches us, it will eat us alive to be perfectly honest, so we can never come into contact with it at all."

"Not even your magic?"

"Not even our magic."

"Then...how do you plan to stop this??"

Devan glanced at Trystan, who drew a pouch from her sleeve and tossed it at the dedicate. "That powder, if you dissolve it in water and drink it and then give some to her, will give you the ability to go into her mind itself," explained Trystan carefully. "What you must do is wall off the part of her mind which is linked with the unmagic right now...to be exact, any and all memories since she came here. She'll remember where she is, who all of you are, and who Silven is....but her memory of her brother and all that's happened with him will be blocked from her with a wall of pure light and life essence. It is the only thing that will hold off the unmagic until her return."

"She'll notice it's there," replied Moonstream warningly. "How should you deal with that?"

"We will simply let her keep her mage skills with combat, and explain it off as that," replied Trystan with a shrug. "As for all of you...she is to be told she suffered from a terrible accident and never fully recovered. None is ever to mention the past to her, understand? Let her roam and travel as she pleases, we will take care of her meeting up with those who would be troublesome out there....but here, inside the temple, we will depend upon you to do that for us, Moonstream."

"It is the only way?" asked Lyssa worriedly as she sat beside Briteyes, holding one of her hands firmly. "If there's any other way it could be taken care of...?"

"We can't destroy it," said Devan firmly. "And those who will be able to soon are not yet trained...you will understand what I mean by that later on. For now, this is the way things must be."

Moonstream and Lyssa exchanged glances and nodded, the powder dissolved in water and the girl turned back to a squirrel moments later. "Let us begin..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Please??" wheedled Libby as she sidled up beside Brenna in the kitchen. "Pretty pretty pretty please with sugar and chocolate and the a bunny on top?"

"Isn't that supposed to be a cheery on top?" asked Rupal as she wandered by, munching on some pie she'd purloined from the pantry.

"Yeah...but I like bunnies better!"

"Ok."

"I want to know what you're going to do with it first!" replied Brenna firmly as she gathered her own snack together and headed out into the main room and towards the back door. "Libby, just tell me, please??"

"You have to pinky swear that you'll make me the dye if you do," replied Libby firmly, sticking out her hand with her pinky the only finger that wasn't curled in her fist. 

"Fine," agreed Brenna tiredly, linking pinkies with her and giving them a slight squeeze. "I pinky swear. Now what are you going to do with it?!"

"Dye all my bunnies pink!!" replied Libby with a wide grin, spreading her arms out wide as she did. "Can't you see it now?? Everyone will come from miles around to bye my pink bunnies..." Libby sighed in contentment a she let herself be carried away in her dream for a moment, her eyes glowing with a childish glee. "Ahh..."

"Earth to Lib." Brenna poked her in the side, Libby coming back to reality (or as much as she ever was) and nodding firmly. "I did promise...well, I was actually thinking of you while I was doing the other dyes and made up a vat of it already. It's waiting out behind the barn if you want to start now."

Libby's eyes flew open as she gaped at Brenna in surprise. "You didn't!!"

"I did," replied Brenna with a grin. "Get going now so you can get part of it done before dinner. Kaitlin's making meat pies tonight, and she'll kill you if you're late after she's slaved away over them all afternoon long."

"That's right I will!!" replied Kaitlin from where she stood at the counter, putting the top on one of the said famous meat pies. "You all better appreciate my cooking or there's going to be hell to pay...respect my authority!!"

"Right..." The two turned away as she went off on another one of her 'Kaitlin' rants, where no one's really sure what she's saying, but it's funny to watch regardless. "Yeah, go have fun, Lib."

"I will, thanks!"

"Welcome."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Randy appeared just side Olivia's door as the icemage finished another one of the books the most recent teacher had insisted they read. And while he was heavy on reading assignments, at least he didn't give them written exercises to go along with it or anything like that. 

"You need something?" asked Olivia as she glanced up at him, motioning for him to take a seat by the desk from where she sat on the bed. He took the offered chair and nodded in thanks. 

"I don't need anything, I just wanted to apologize," he said after a moment's hesitation, Olivia watching him in mild surprise. "I mean, I know you say you don't mind being caught in the middle of all this but...it's got to be hard still."

"You know, you could just go apologize to Bryanna like you just did to me and everything would probably be ok, thus ending the need for the first apology all together," offered Olivia, noting the change in Randy as he stiffened considerably and his eyes flashed with anger. "Or not..."

"I won't apologize to her, because she is the one who's wrong," he retorted gruffly, keeping his temper slightly more in check than normal as he did. "Like I said, I'm sorry that you're stuck in the middle of it all...but that's all I'm sorry for."

"You're both as stubborn as mules, you know that?" asked Olivia as she leaned back on her bed, studying him out of the corner of her eye. He really was kinda cute when he wasn't aggravating her, causing trouble with Bry, or acting like a total moron. "I do accept your apology, though I would like it even more if you swallowed your pride long enough to go and attempt to have a conversation with Bryanna."

Randy considered her words as he rose from the chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he did. "Maybe. I'll think about it."

Olivia shrugged as she watched him leave, frowning to herself. "That's all I can really ask you to do."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Nicole, you know better than that!!" scolded Jenny as she looked at the small nymph who sat pouting on her knee, her winds completely and dejectedly still for once. "You almost dropped Tyler, and what would I have said to Tanner or Trevor? 'Oh, I'm sorry, but the resident nymph just lost her control for a moment and smashed your little brother on the deck of the ship? Luckily we didn't sustain any damage, but he's been made into a human jelly?!'"

"I didn't drop him." Nicole stuck her bottom lip out even farther. "Come on, Jenny, it was just a little harmless fun..."

"It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt," replied Jenny firmly. As an afterthought, she added, "Or killed. Just promise me you won't do it again, ok?"

"Alright..."

"Alright, what?"

"Alright, I promise."

"Promise what?"

"I promise not to do it again."

"Do what again?"

Nicole glared at Jenny, who just raised her eyebrows ever so slightly in reply.

"I promise to never, ever take Tyler or any other member of the crew flying with me again."

"That's a good little nymph." Jenny sat her on the desk and stood, heading for the door. "Now be a good little nymph and run along and play."

"You know, you can be a real pain sometimes," loused Nicole as she flew out the door.

"Yeah, but you love me that way!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Alyse and Landon stood side by side as they observed the oozing black substance before them with curiosity. Alyse, who of course had more than an inkling of what had been going on, had somehow managed to convince Landon that all of this was not just some technological wonder and was indeed magic. He had accepted it, though she wasn't sure just how much he actually liked the thought of it yet, and they'd spent the last two weeks training in their new powers with the 'tool' Devan had given them.

Landon's was a short sword with spikes along the hand guard and serrated half-moons on one side. Hers was a fan much like those she'd wielded back in Tortal, the only difference being she could not wield her magic through them this time.

"This is unmagic?" she asked as she carefully dipped her hand in as he'd suggested, finding it slid right off. "Oh...right..." She probed it as he'd taught her to, finding it to be so in her sight as a black, ominous presence that seemed to glow somehow to her mage eyes with an unnatural light. "Wow...why doesn't it affect us, though?"

"You are saturated with life and light essence, the one thing that can destroy and hold off unmagic," explained Devan as Landon pulled some out as well, playing with it and stretching it out to form long strands as he watched the way the light reflected off it with fascination. 

"I never thought I'd find something so...mystical to be so...real," he murmured to himself as he let it pool back in his palm. "It's almost like the Matrix with the mirror, only this stuff does not have the power to harm us like the mirror's substance seemed to with Neo, does it?"

"Do not treat it lightly," warned Devan as he came a tad bit closer, but only a very small tad. "While you are protected, others are not. You must destroy it whenever you find it, that is where your powers lie."

"I see...like this?" Landon called upon the blue fires that ranged inside of him as his 'magic', not actually magic in the sense that it was like what ever other mage possessed, but something very similar to it indeed. The unmagic inside hand jerked, and then disappeared into a pile of ash, leaving nothing of itself behind.

"Exactly."

"What are we going to be doing?" asked Alyse as Devan transported them from the 'otherworld' they'd visited in order to complete their learning of unmagic. It was actually a plain far to the east where no man had ever wandered and lived, but it would do little good to destroy it as it was right then so he let it be for the moment. Ending back up in the field where they'd been their first day, Devan smiled. 

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," he replied with a shrug. "Take the road you'll find that way to the south, and there you'll find the role which you've been brought to play. Finding the others is a priority of course, but even if you did not attempt to search for them your paths and theirs will cross eventually, they always do. Toddles!" With that he vanished, leaving the two young adults standing there with the clothes on their backs, some packs that appeared on the ground at their feet, and the weapons he'd given them. 

"You know, I'm beginning to see why you liked his sister better," muttered Landon as he picked up the pack and slung it over his shoulder as Alyse had already done, following her in the direction Devan had pointed. "He's not exactly very specific, is he?"

"Nope, not at all," replied Alyse as she rolled her eyes. "But then again, who said this was going to be easy?"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Jon?" called Kristen as she walked into his side of the fighting hall, glancing around as she did. "I know you're here, you left the door open!"

"I'll be down in a second!!" he called from the rafters, sliding down a few moments later on a rope he had hanging down from the ceiling. "Right on time as always, I see."

"Of course," she replied with an uneasy shrug. "So, are we back on the balance beam today? I...uh....didn't make it over the 6 foot high one yet...."

"Yes, I know, but I've got something else in mind," he stated with a shrug as he pointed to the ladder that led up to the platform on the edge of the course. "Up you go."

"Up there??

"Yeah."

"Why??"

"Because I said so, and you're taking my course," replied Jon with a shrug. "Go, or fail, either way it's the same to me."

"Alright, alright..." Kristen climbed the ladder slowly, taking her time getting to the top as he rummaged through one of the crates below. Coming up the ladder rather quickly himself, he found her standing a few feet from the edge, the latter white as a sheet and doing her best not to shake.

"I'm thinking no," she said quite simply, turning around to find him barring the exit with a harness in his hands. 

"The only way you're getting down is if you go down the ladder on the opposite side," he said as he tossed the harness at her, her catching it in her numb hands.

"You're incredibly cruel," she said after she figured she had little chance up budging him from the spot without a great deal of wasted effort. 

Jon just smiled and nodded. "I know."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Briteyes woke the next morning, her body feeling like she'd run to the moon and back a dozen times it was so worn out and her head aching ever so slightly just behind her eyes. Blinking them wearing, she slowly sat up with a wince. Man, she was sore, but...she wasn't tired for once.

"You're awake," said Lark as the dedicate offered her a cup of tea, watching with relief as she took it and drank it down immediately.

"Yeah, I...." Briteyes sat there for a moment, staring at the empty cup in her hands as she tried to sort through the haze that her memories had become. "How did I come to be here? I can't seem to remember..."

"You were caught up in some rather...nasty happenings and were badly injured. You were brought here, remember? And we cared for you."

"I do remember that much," admitted Briteyes slowly as she ran a finger down the familiar scar that ran the length of her face. "But why was I involved? Do you know?"

"You wouldn't tell us," replied the dedicate with a shrug, going on the tale Moonstream had told them to tell her when she'd explained things that morning after waiting all night to be allowed back in the attic again. "Silven, who's right there, came with you. She doesn't know anymore than we do...and due to your injuries you lost a great deal of your memory of what happened. You may get it back someday, but until then..." The dedicate shrugged.

Briteyes stared at her hands again as Lark excused herself to bring her some breakfast, trying to sort through something that was solid enough for her hold on to for sure from the past. Her real name was Amanda Frias, and she was in Tamora Pierce's Circle f Magic series. Not exactly a lot to go on, but it was a start...Silven, the squirrel, was really Lyssa, one of her oldest and dearest friends. And she could talk with her just like she could anyone else. 

Here in this world, she was a performer, and she had music magic. She had traveled for a long while, she was sure of that, and had seen many things and met many people. Who was with her, just Silven? Somehow, it didn't feel right, but she let that small detail go with a shrug and continued on. She had somehow, she wasn't even sure where it all began, gotten into a fight of sorts. Whether she started it or the other person did or who or how many had been involved, she had not idea, but she obviously had been badly injured, her scars were proof enough of that and she could vaguely remember lying in a similar bed to this one in vast amounts of pain for long periods of time. 

Also, in this world, she was immortal, as were anyone else who'd gone to Tortal with them the first time, like Silven. Should would always eventually come back to life, though she doubted it would be good for her to die multiple times over. She'd died once, she was somehow sure of that as well. Was it from the fight, or something else? She wished she knew, wished that one small part of her memory wasn't blocked from her view.

Small details, little day to day things she remembered, like the cavern of performers and such, but...still...there had to be something very important that she'd forgotten. Sighing in frustration as she wearily laid back down, she wondered in the back of her mind what in the world it could possibly be.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Libby struggled to hold the wiggly creature in her hands, this particular bunny, and a male at that, having decided that he did not want to become a bright, bubblegum pink like his companions. Pinky, Rose, and the rest sat there patiently on the platform to the side already dyed the shade of pink and waiting for the rest to finish like they had the day before. Pink from the tips of their already pink noses to their fluffy, cotton tails they were what she considered to be truly perfect.

"Hold still, will you?!" she cried as she finally grabbed the bunny the ears and hind legs, stretching him out like a rooster who's going to be killed for a Sunday dinner. "It's just a bit of a bath that'll make you quite lovely indeed, I swear....ah!!!"

*SPLOOSH*

Libby sat there dripping with the pink dye running down her in rivulets, the bunny having escaped to the side with no more than a drop or to on his hindquarters. Pulling a few strands of her hair in front of her face, she gasped. It had been dyed the same pink as her bunnies...

"It's...it's...." Everyone, as in the bunnies, scattered as Libby shot to her feet and danced in circles for joy. "IT"S PINK!!!!!"

"Holy freakin cow," murmured Kaitlin as she came out of the kitchen to see what the fuss was about. "Man...I am so glad I'm just me and not a bunny! As cute as I would be, and happy to hop around all day, I'm thinking I'll pass on being permanently pink...."

"I'M PINK I'M PINK I'M PINK!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!"

"Please tell me I'm dreaming," said Brenna as she appeared beside Kaitlin, trowel in one hand and her robe hitched up around her knees with dirt everywhere. 

"You're not," replied Kaitlin with a shrug. "I'm headed for the kitchen, because at least if there's insanity there, it's insanity I create, and I know I can deal with it too cuz it's mine and only mine."

Brenna watched as she walked off, then back to where Libby danced around and then turned evil for a few moments with her pinkness before going back to dancing again. "Oi..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Olivia cooled her too-hot tea with a touch of her magic, knowing she would need it as Bryanna and Randy sat stiffly across from each other with her in the middle as usual. 

"Randy, you first," she said pointedly, giving him a look that brooked no argument as he opened his mouth to protest, snapping it closed a moment later.

"I...uh..." He gulped and forced himself to go on. "I am sorry for some of the things I said earlier, Bryanna, they were wrong and unjust of me to say them. I hope you will accept my apology."

"Now you, Bryanna," said Olivia, giving her the same look as she sighed and gave in without a fight.

"I apologize as well," she ground through her teeth, not angrily but it was a struggle none the less. "For what I said was baseless and I didn't have proof to back it up with." She paused, then added, "I hope you will accept my apology as well."

"Very good," said Olivia with a sigh as she sat back and nodded. "I'm glad that's over with at last..."

"If I might suggest something?" asked Bryanna as she sipped her own tea, still sitting there rigidly with her eyes downcast. 

"Go on," replied Olivia with a nod. 

"I still thing there's something wrong with the medallions," she said slowly, holding up a hand and Randy began to protest. "Not necessarily evil, just wrong! I want to go back and see how the Masters we've given to have faired, to see their impression of them as well. They may see something we couldn't detect, Randy....and if they're harmless, I'm willing to leave it at that and never mention it again."

"I have the man who gave them to me word that they are," replied Randy immediately. "We need no more proof than that, I think, so it would be a waste of time to do so and we're not exactly free to do as we please, you know."

Bryanna frowned as she toyed with the cup in her hands. "I still feel we should check..."

"We can decide that later, it's getting late as is and it took me longer to convince you both to come than I thought it would," said Olivia as she rose suddenly, heading for her own room door as Bryanna and Randy followed her example. "Goodnight, you two."

"Nite."

"Night, Olivia."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Nicole checked and rechecked her small vessel again and again, shaped from bits of leather and wood the others didn't need about the size of their hands, more than big enough to make her a regular little ship. Getting Trevor to help her had been a synch, and now with a mast made of some old rags she was more than ready to test it out on open waters along side the ship. Lowering it into the water with her winds, she flew down to it and secured it to the ship with a long line that Trevor had tied to the rail so incase it did flip over they'd be able to retrieve it and try again.

"Ready?" he called from the railing as she waved at him as was agreed. 

"Ready!!" she called back, giving him a thumbs up before letting down her mast so it would catch the wind and sail along without being entirely towed by the ship. Feeling her little craft skitter about a bit, it caught a fresh, strong breeze and took off, coming up beside the ship far enough out that she wouldn't get caught in the waves that splashed off of it.

"How is it?" called Trevor from his post, watching her with a smile. 

"Great!!" she called back, giving him another thumbs up before settling back in her position at the helm. "Oh ho ho, and a bottle 'o rum! Nymphs are better than everyone!"

Trevor laughed as she went on singing, making up verses about scurvy winds and how nymphs had to tame them all. It was a good day to be sailing indeed.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Alyse and Landon walked into Summer Sea, Landon enthralled by another one of Alyse's tales about her 'past' visit to Tortall and some of their doings there. 

"I still do not see why you would associate yourselves with common thieves," he commented as they walked up to a pub one of the merchants had been kind enough to point out to them. "Though, as they were past friends of yours, I suppose I might understand why..."

"Thieves or not, they still did their fair share of the work," countered Alyse with a slight grin. "And they kept their paws to themselves while on Amanda's holdings, she and Brenna, or Vixen as she was called then, saw to that. I think not even the gods above could've saved them from their combined wraths had they attempted to double-cross the pair."

"You said she was your cousin there, this Amanda and her 'sister' Elizabeth, but the same ties were not so back home in the 'real world'." Landon paused and then motioned towards her slightly. "If you could explain how that is so...?"

"I'll try to, but you might find it a bit confusing..." Continuing their conversation as they ordered their food and then found themselves a quiet corner where no one would overhear them, Alyse began to feel a small itch in the back of her mind that grew ever so slowly as she tried to ignore it.

Landon noticed her divided attention and paused with his sandwich halfway to his lips. "Is something the matter?" he asked ever so slowly, putting the food down and scanning the room slowly.

"I'm not sure," she admitted carefully. "Well...hang on a moment..." She tranced out as Devan had taught her and gathered her mage senses together, looking over the room and people around her until she found the one thing that had been bothering her, a brilliant black smear in her vision that denoted unmagic. "Ah..."

"What, you see something?" asked Landon curiously.

Alyse opened her eyes as she came to and glanced at him. "Unmagic."

"Oh! What do we do now??"

"I'm not sure," admitted Alyse hesitantly, "There's so many questions, like if the person knows he has it, or if he does know he has it or if he intends to use it or is even just a carrier, taking it to another mage for their use. I don't want to act without knowing more, but if we stall ourselves for too long we could be too late..."

"Link with me," offered Landon as he held out a hand to her suddenly. "I won't be able to identify it without you showing me, but once you do I can tell who it is, remember?"

"Right..." She took his hand melded her power with his, feeling him as a constant presence in the back of her mind as she went back through the sorting of her mage senses and let him look through her 'eyes' at what she saw around her, pointing out the unmagic to him and then waiting him to pull away before she brought herself out of her trance as well. "Well?"

"It's the boy over there among his friends," explained Landon as he nodded in the direction of the table to their right. "He doesn't look like a mage to me, and he's dressed in a livery of sorts..."

"He's incapable of using the unmagic, I can tell you that much," replied Alyse with a shrug. "More than that...well, I'm not sure to be honest. He looks like he's about to leave...shall we follow him?"

"Only thing I can think of to do." Together they rose, having already paid for their meal and drinks before slipping out into the crowd and tailing the boy from a few yards behind. "Hey...weren't they had that place as well?" murmured Landon as he motioned to their left, three people dressed similarly to them walking along the other side of the road and keeping their eyes trained on the boy as well.

"They were," replied Alyse slowly. "Something's going on here, and I wish I knew what...stupid mage boy! He should've given us more details than he did!"

"Can't be helped now," stated Landon quietly. "Off there to the right the boy's gone and his pursuers with him. Shall we?"

"Yeah." They rounded the bend in the shadows to find it was a dead end, the boy trapped there with the three figures closing in on him quickly. 

"Just give us the box, and you can go free," said the tallest of the trio, all of them swathed from head to toe so their faces couldn't be seen, and nothing more could be told about them other than they were obviously human. 

"I can't, it's for my master's friend!" replied the boy stubbornly. "It's very important that it gets to him!"

"What's more important, the box or your life?"

"That's enough!" Alyse stepped out of the shadows just as one of three drew their blade, whipping her own fan out and holding it at ready. She may not have magic that worked through it anymore, but it was far of useless. "Let the boy go."

"You don't know what you're meddling with, Miss," said the tallest, turning his black eyes on her in annoyance. "You'd best get out while you still can..."

"Catch, sir!!" All five glanced over in surprise as the boy launched the box overhead...straight into the hands of a richly robed servant who sprang into the carriage that waited there at his side and sped away down the streets of the city.

"Meddling imbeciles! You let it get away!" cried one of the other gray-swathed figures, running after it but finding it gone once he was out of the alley. The boy slipped away during all of this, disappearing as well, much to all of their annoyance. "You sure as hell better have a decent excuse for your....hey, will you listen to me?!"

"Can you see him?" asked Landon, completely ignoring the man as Alyse went into a half trance, and then shook herself awake again.

"He's gone east," she replied quickly, placing her fan back in her belt and going over the plan of the city in her head. "Out of the city and towards another town. We might catch him if we rent a pair of horses and hurry..."

"You can sense the taint?!" demanded the tall one, latching on to her arm as she tried to leave. 

"Yes," replied Alyse, understand what he meant just by the inflection of his voice. "And we have to hurry...."

"Rio will take care of it," he state as he made a motion with his fingers, one of the two left slipping off and into the streets. "You two, I think, had best come with us...."

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And the random insanity goes on. ^_^ I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please, please, please review. It's really something that makes me want to keep writing more chapters, ok?? Thanks!!!

'Innocence is a luxury that quickly becomes nothing but a memory in the controlled chaos known as marching band.'

~Crosseyedbutterfly~


	13. 

Chapter 13!! Supposedly the most unlucky number there is, but...I don't think it's going to affect this chapter any. Thanks to those of you (even the few who reviewed for the first time in a long time ^_~) who took the time to press that little button at the bottom and give me your thoughts. I love you guys!! And now, presenting, CHAPTER 13!! *DUN DUN DUN*

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Ben sat on his cushion below the dais, knowing better than to look anywhere but at the floor as he played on, a soft lullaby of sorts that the Master had requested through one of the guards before he'd entered the hall. His guest was another noble like himself, similar to dress and everything. Ben wouldn't have been enable to tell one from the other, personally, but apparently there was some difference there from the deference the Master paid to this man. Hanging on his every word, replying instantly and respectfully to every question, humbling himself through his choice of words, he might as well been the servant and his guest the Master in a way.

Past that, though, he ceased to think about the pair and instead let his own thoughts wander, letting his fingers and tongue do the work for him while the rest of his attention ran free. He'd actually learned the base for this tune from Amanda, it was one of those pieces she'd put together for the two of them...he could hear the chords as she moved up the rise with him, then her slightly offbeat part there as she fingered through some odd intervals, just loud enough to be heard over his own part...

He still missed her very, very much. It had been over three months, almost four, since  the 'incident' had happened. He still didn't know how she'd died, or even if she had died at all. But if she hadn't, why hadn't she come for him yet? Ben knew without a doubt that she would never willingly leave him where he wouldn't be safe, and would anything and everything to get him back. If she were still alive, and able to reach him, she would've at least sent him word by now, he was sure of that. 

So she was either...gone, which Nana had said was most likely when dealing with the Master and his underlings, or unable to come and get him somehow. Could they have hurt her so badly that she'd never be able to, say, walk again? If she lost a leg she wouldn't be able to fight very well, or any major limb for that matter. Or what if they blinded her or cut out her tongue so she couldn't speak....Ben shook his head and forced his imagination to settle down, pushing the images that had come up out of his mind and focusing for awhile on his music instead. He couldn't break down right now, not while he was supposed to be playing for the dinner entertainment. To do so would ensure a very rough beating later on, something he'd rather avoid right now.

He came to the end of the lullaby and went straight into another tune very similar to it, but with a more perky, but calming feel to it. It was made more to put you at ease, and revitalize, rather than to put children to sleep. Or adults, as he remembered with a slight grin the baron who'd fallen asleep in his pudding the last time he'd played the first piece. Granted, the man was exhausted from his day's journey to get there, but it was funny none the less.

Both the Master and his guest rose suddenly, bowing to each other as they retired to a smaller room behind the one they were in now and Ben was dismissed back to his other duties. Glancing down at his fingers, he grimaced and headed for his room where the bandages where. He'd best build up some calluses on his fingers soon, or he was going to ruin his flute from his blood blisters that popped at random.

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Libby could hardly contain her joy as she bounced down the hall to breakfast, following her nose with the sweet aromas of pancakes, bacon, and fried apples in the air. "You're up early," commented Jem as he met her at the bottom of the stairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I have pink hair!!" she exclaimed as she grabbed his hands and danced him down with her, the little boy following with a surprised look on his face as he could do nothing by try not to trip over his own feet in the process. "Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day, I've got a wonderful feeling everything's going my way!!"

"And good morning to you too!" said Kaitlin as she brought out plates and fresh cups of juice for them. "Sleep well, Jem?"

"Like a rock."

"Good. What about you Libby?"

"I don't need sleep," she declared as she sat down, taking some pancakes for herself and liberally pouring the syrup over them. "I am beyond the normal limits of all mortals with my pink hair!"

"Does that mean you're willing to take Cheek's job of plowing the fields today for the spring planting?" asked Brenna as she sat down beside her, serving herself as well and thanking Kaitlin for the coffee she brought her. "Because I'm sure he'd love to have you take the job for him...."

Libby frowned as she stuck her nose up in the air arrogantly. "Those with pink hair do not lower themselves to the chores of those who do not."

"Libby, you do realize in about two weeks it's going to start growing out, right?" asked Brenna as she glanced at her rather pointedly, helping herself to the syrup as well. "It's just dye, it can't really give you super powers dear. If you want, I can find something that'll remove it just like we did with your skin...."

"Never!!" Libby clapped her hands on her hair protectively. *sniffles* "I love my pink hair...."

"You could always re-dye it when the roots start to show," Kaitlin reminded her as Cheeks came downstairs as well, the only one of the group who wasn't present being Rupal and her being buried underneath a mountain of books on her desk as usual.

"Will you Brenna??" begged Libby as she gave the farmer lady the biggest puppy eyes she could manage on the spot. "Pretty pretty please with a thousand pink bunnies and a cherry on top???"

"Yes, I'll help you re-dye it when it needs to be done," promised Brenna, taking a sip of her coffee as she did. "We'll have to be careful, though, I don't know how your hair's going to react to multiple dyes....and I'd hate for you to go bald because you used it one too many times."

"Bah, my hair'll be fine," retorted Libby as she busied herself with the task of eating again. "After all, it's the color pink...and pink shall never, ever hurt me!"

Brenna sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Right..."

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Nicole sat with Jenny in her cabin, playing checkers on an old board they'd found in one of the storage lockers below deck. Jenny moved her newly crowned king to the right next to one of Nicole's pawns. "Your turn."

Nicole levitated above the board, and then landed beside one of her pieces, using her wind powers to jump it over Jenny's king. "Gotcha!"

"Wait, you can't do that," protested Jenny as she jerked back in surprise. "Pawns can't move that direction, only kings can go both...."

"Your pawns can't move that direction," Nicole informed her pertly. "Mine can, remember?"

Jenny sat there for a moment, recognition dawning in her eyes as she did. "Ohh...well in that case, can we redo that?"

"I don't think so!"

"I let you when you forgot Kings could move both ways."

"...so?"

"Nicole!! That's not fair, I was being nice..."

"And you never said I had to be nice back, to there." Nicole stuck her tongue out at the captain childishly. "Heh."

"Now that's just-" Jenny was cut off as the whole ship tilted to the side, righting itself again a moment later with half the items on Jenny's desk now sitting on the floor and their board completely flipped over wtih it's pieces scattered every which way. 

"What was that?!" demanded Jenny as she scrambled up from where she'd fallen from her seat and threw open the door of her cabin. Lightning bolts threaded their way across the sky, waves rising higher and higher to crash over the sides of the ship, flooding the deck with treacherous waters that hid the planks below. "Oh great..."

"Captain, we've got us a squall to deal with!" yelled Trevor as he scrambled down from the mast, the sails all gathered in already even as the heavens opened up and the rain began to pour. "Tanner says it shouldn't last more than an hour or two the way the weather's been going, but he'd like you to stay below deck with your other friends just the same...we'll handle it from here!"

"I don't think so!" snapped Nicole as she flitted past him, tugging on his ear as she went by. "I'll take care of this little mess, thank you kindly..."

Tyler tried to grab for her as she raced up for the crow's nest. "Don't, Nicole, it's dangerous to toy with nature...she is as wild and free as a beast and could turn on you even worse than before!"

"If she's a beast, she'd best stay out of my 'cuz I learned how to bite back from the best!" Nicole yelled back as she stopped near the top, feeling the winds whip and tear around her in their frantic search to pluck everything that wasn't tied down and toss it to the sky. Letting her mind flow free as she'd learned, she followed the weather patterns and found it was moving away from them steadily, it just needed a little 'push' to send it on it's way. "Hm..."

Gathering the winds that would allow themselves to be harnessed around her, she used them to weave a net ropes of air, closing it around the storm system and slowly, gently, tugging it away from the ship towards other waters. The storm moved, though grudgingly, and the skies slowly began to clear.

"Okay, then, never mind..." Jenny stood next to the drenched Tyler and Trevor, Tanner hailing them from the helm with an usual look on his face. 

"What was that for?" he asked indignantly as Jenny came up with Nicole sitting on her shoulder. "I was doing perfectly well, thank you..."

"Her ship, her rules," cut in Nicole, smirking as he glared in reply. "Heh, typical egotistical male."

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

Jack suddenly popped up from below deck, shaking an accusing finger at Tanner. "Now do you see what I mean?!"

Nicole's eye twitched. "Who asked you to join in?!" She flicked two fingers towards him, two twin blasts of winds sending him flying over the rail of the deck to the waters below.

"Stupid....feminist....nymph thing!" sputtered Jack as he struggled to keep his head above the waves. 

Nicole just smiled innocently as Tanner got a line and hauled Jack back over the edge of the boat. "Who me? Never!"

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_Bryanna could feel it creeping towards her, it's empty, black depths yearning to swallow her alive, to devour her whole. And this time she couldn't escape...writhing, screaming, fighting it's bonds only to have it latch on to her all the tighter and attempt to drown her in it's presence..._

The healer student sat up, her throat hoarse from the held in screams as she shook horribly, tears streaming down her face as she tried to call out for help, to even say a single word, but she couldn't! Olivia, who'd had to share a room with her again, looked up from where she sat still reading in the corner. 

"Something wrong, Bry?" Bryanna's movements had grown more and more violent, her eyes begging for help as her chest began to freeze up like her throat had and she could no longer breath, feeling something choking her from the inside out.... "Bryanna?!" 

Olivia was up and at Bryanna's side in an instant as the healer collapsed completely, grabbing her wrist and feeling something dangling from it. Ripping it off and holding it to the light, Bryanna immediately began to relax and calm herself even as Olivia recognized it as one of Randy's.

"It tried to kill me," whispered Bryanna hoarsely, the tears still flowing down her face as she tried to curl up in a small ball. "It was consuming me, I could feel it..."

"Oh my gosh," whispered Randy from where he stepped out of the shadows, Olivia angrily throwing the medallion in the fire before placing herself protectively between him and Bryanna. She might not be particularly close to the healer girl, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to defend her when she couldn't take care of herself.

"Easy," she murmured to Bryanna, putting a hand on her back as she reached over and grabbed the bottle of spirits she'd gotten earlier that day for a special occasion. "Drink some of this, it'll help..."

Bryanna took a sip and gasped as it went down her throat like fire, bringing with it a pleasant feeling of being slightly disjointed from reality that buzzed at the edge of her senses and kept her from doing any serious thinking at all. "Ah...thanks..."

"Sure thing." Olivia left her with the bottle and advanced on Randy, her eyes flashing dangerously. "And as for you..."

"I swear, I didn't know she'd react like that!" cried Randy as he backed up quickly, finding himself between her and a wall a few moments later. "It must've been a defective one or something...mine never did anything like that!"

"So you thought you'd prove a point by doing it when she was asleep and when she woke up you could say all her fears were completely baseless?" ground Olivia through her teeth as she advanced on Randy a few more steps. "Idiot! You knew she didn't like them! And I'll bet that medallion wasn't defective, it's just like the rest of them, which means we've left some of the best instructors we've had with a little piece of death in their hands!"

Randy's hands shook as he went to his neck. "A little...piece of death?" he whispered quietly.

"Yeah, death," replied Olivia as she pointed towards the door for him to leave. "And you'd better hope that medallion gets you before Bryanna does when she'd fully coherent again, because I doubt she'll leave you in one piece. I wouldn't."

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Kristen very, very slowly went inch by inch across the beam, moving her feet as slowly as possible without coming to a complete standstill. In her hands was a pole that she held crossways in front of her, and attached to her waist was a harness connected to a sliding pin above her so if she fell she wouldn't go more than a few feet at the most and he could haul her up to start all over again.

Jon walked along the beam next to hers, the only two that went straight across without cutting off at one point or another or with hole in them that forced the user to make a small jump or take an alternate route. Occasionally he'd wobble slightly to one side or the other, but he never fell, which was probably a good thing since he wasn't wearing a harness like she was.

"You're going to trip and break you neck!" snapped Kristen as she edged forward a little further, feeling herself lean to the right slightly before she quickly righted herself. "In fact, if I weren't so sure I'd fall with you and there'd be no one to haul me up, I'd probably push you off and save you the trouble of waiting for your luck to fall out."

"Thanks, nice to know you appreciate everything I'd done for you," muttered Jon as he rolled his eyes, running a hand through his usual mess of spikes that passed for hair. "You know, it would probably help if you moved faster than two inches and hour, snail..."

"I'm not a snail," growled Kristen. "Shut up."

"Ok, ok....just trying to get a laugh is all. See this? It's a smile, you might try doing it sometime."

"I don't smile," huffed Kristen, taking a few steps forward at a slightly quicker pace. "I smirk."

"So I noticed..."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing you'd understand, probably."

"WHAT?!" Kristen turned and swung at Jon with the pole, feeling him grab it and then jerk it from her hands as she suddenly found herself looking straight down with the floor coming closer....and then the painful jerk as the harness caught her and she was suspended in midair.

"This is why you wear the harness and I don't," commented Jon as he sat on the rafter and watched her hang. 

"You truly are a bastard, you know that?"

Jon shrugged with a smirk. "So they keep telling me."

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Alyse and Landon sat side by side on a pair of horses, blindfolded after having left the city gates with their 'escorts' so they wouldn't know the way to wherever it was they were going. After what seemed like ages later, they stopped and were allowed to see again, blinking in the torchlight that lit the small courtyard they were in. Following the still gray-swathed figures down a set of hallways with a pair of guards that had attached themselves to the rear of the group, they dared not say a word to each other and waited in tight-lipped anticipation for what might happen next. 

Alyse's hand was constantly tracing the handle of her fan, and Landon had taking to toying with the hilt of his short sword, but both hoped deep in their hearts it wouldn't come to blows. Alyse because she didn't like to kill, and Landon because he still wasn't entirely comfortable with the weapon he'd been given.

They stopped before a large set of double doors, the taller of their escorts knocking in some specific sequence before it was opened from the inside and the four of them with their guards staying behind where allowed to enter. 

The hall behind it was huge, a dais at the far end holding a table where five or six important looking people sat going through papers, talking with others, or watching the work going on below. Below the dais were several long, wide tables where many people in both mage's robes and soldier's armor sat around talking, eating, drinking, drawing out plans and in general creating the atmosphere of controlled chaos that permeated the place. 

"You're back early, Less," said one of those closer to the door, a young woman dressed similarly to the pair who'd silently led them thus far. "And with some visitors as well. Best have a good reason for that, Elcarth doesn't like just anyone to be allowed in ya know..."

"Yeah," replied the taller of the two, removing his head piece to show he had sandy blonde hair that stuck up in all directions, his dark green eyes intelligent and calculating and a crooked smile on his face. "I'm aware of that, Kes. We left Rio to take care of it, she should be back soon..."

"Actually, I beat you back!" called someone else from the other side of the room, waving before sitting back down to finish whatever it they were doing.

"Never mind then," coughed Less, who shrugged his shoulders and tossed the head thing into a bin near the door, stripping his other outer grays as well to reveal a light brown sleeveless tunic and trousers. Their other escort did so as well, revealing a broad-shouldered male with thick black hair and bushy eyebrows that wiggled that caterpillars upon his brow. "Come on, you two, time to go find out why you were brought here."

"It's nice to know someone hasn't forgotten we exist," coughed Landon dryly.

"Patience," murmured Alyse, watching all around her while following their guides through the maze of tables. "We're rather outnumbered here, if you haven't noticed..."

"Yes, but according to Devan, you're completely immortal, so at least one of us would get out alive," replied Landon with a wink.

"Thanks, but I'd rather not have my soul being torn in three different directions while my body takes its sweet time pulling itself back together," sighed Alyse with a slight blush.

"Less, Teren," acknowledged one of the six sitting on the dais as they stood at the edge of it, the six standing as well. "You've returned, and it was successful. Well done. However, I am curious to know who these are...?"

"Mages, sir," replied Less respectfully as he stood a little taller. "The woman, she can sense the taint, and the man, he can see it."

The one who acknowledged them froze for a moment in surprise. "She can sense it, you say? What's your name, miss? And yours, sir?"

"I am Alyse," she replied simply. "My friend is Landon."

"Obviously you have control of these talents of yours," went on the man quickly. "Who trained you?"

The two from another world traded glances. "Sir Devan," replied Landon hesitantly.

"Haha!!" Both mages jumped slightly, backing away as the one who's greeted them danced in a circle and whooped as loud as he could. The entire group in the hall got to it's feet and did so as well. 

Alyse backed up another step, reaching for her fan as she grabbed Less with her free hand and forced him to look her in the eye. "What the heck is going on?"

Less just smiled his crooked grin and laughed. "It means you're now one of us, the Gray Hunters."

Alyse and Landon looked at each other, then back at the wild assembly around them. "Oh boy..."

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Briteyes sat by herself in the attic, going through the box of things Rosethorn and Lark told her she'd left behind on her last 'trip', Silven downstairs with them sharing an afternoon snack. Apparently the dedicates were aware of who and what Silven was, for they treated her the same as they did the performer, but she couldn't remember how they knew though Silven had assured her that it wasn't important enough to explain it all to her again.

The first thing in the box was a lute, one that she ran her fingers over in recognition as she pulled it out and placed it in her lap, checking each string as she did. It was newer than the one she remembered, but then a thread from the past came through the mists, reminding her of being presented with this one after she'd recovered....recovered from what? The strings were still new, and it had obviously never been played for the fret board didn't have a single mark on it in the least. Why hadn't she played it? It wasn't that she didn't know how, for she had only to pick it up and think of a tune to begin to play it, she was sure of that much at least. 

Setting it aside, she went on and pulled out an old, patched travel bag. Inside she found a few scrolls with tunes written on it, ones she'd heard or made up, she guessed. A few obviously weren't her creation, but there was one or two that had a certain 'feel' to them....she couldn't quite describe it, but she was sure they were hers none the less. Stacking them neatly beside the lute, she went on and pulled out another item.

This one was a hat, a blue one with a bell on each of it's peeks. They'd called them 'jester hats' back home, and while she was rather certain it wasn't hers, it had a very familiar feel to it. A feel that was similar to the one she had when she was told she'd given up whatever old name she'd have and only answered to 'Briteyes' now. That much, at least, she'd accepted thus far. However, had the hat belonged to someone she knew very well? And if it did, why did she have it now?? So many questions and so few answers...

Pulling out the rest of the contents, she found nothing else that might help her figure out her past and put it all away again, taking only the lute with her as she headed out of the attic and to the floors below. 

"Going somewhere?" asked Rosethorn from where she sat at the kitchen table nursing a small, sick plant with a tender care few ever saw. 

"Just out to the main gardens to practice awhile," replied Briteyes over her shoulder, grinning slowly as she wave to Lyssa who lay on the window sill in the warm sunlight. 

#Be careful# her ever watchful animal companion called sleepily. 

"I will," replied Briteyes with a nod. She walked on out the gate and to the path, following it a ways until she came to a garden that was more familiar than the rest, hidden away in a nook against one of the walls. She'd been here before, but why was beyond her once again. Taking seat beneath one of the trees on a stone bench, she began to tune her lute and go through some technical and warm-up exercises so her fingers wouldn't cramp halfway through. 

"...Brite?" called someone from nearby, very familiar as it's owner came into view. Still wearing the same novice robes and with her strawberry-blonde hair just a little bit longer than before. Briteyes blinked, then grasped at the name that danced on the tip of her tongue.

"T...Tany? Tan...Tanya!"

A shy smile split the younger girl's face. "You do remember me!"

"Better than I remember most of anything else," admitted the performer wryly. "But please, have a seat! It's been a very long time since I actually talked with you, hasn't it?"

"Mmhm." Tanya sat slowly on the other end of the bench and watched as Briteyes finished her tuning and began to play a soft lullaby. "Not since you played here for Midsummer nearly a year ago."

Briteyes frowned. "I was...happy then, wasn't I?" she asked carefully, feeling bits a pieces of her fragmented memories reach her. "Everyone liked the music, and I think I sat with you at a fire afterwards until almost the next morning..."

"That's right," affirmed the novice, wondering how much she should say since the Honored Moonstream had made it very clear none of them where to ever even mention her deceased brother Scamp or anything that happened with the two of them together. "Say...there was a squirrel with you that night, right? Is she still around?"

"Silven? Yeah, she's still alive and kicking," replied Briteyes as she rolled her eyes. "And biting for that matter..."

Tanya tugged on her ear lightly, the same one where Briteyes now sported a set of fang marks. "Is that what those are from?"

"Oh, yeah." Briteyes fingered her ear gingerly. "I'm not sure why she bit me, but I was told I deserved it and they're probably right."

"....right." Tanya suddenly titled her head to the side, the sound of someone calling her name coming from the distance. "I'm being summoned again. I hope to see you again soon, Briteyes."

"And you too, Tanya!" Briteyes called after her with a grin and a wave. "Please, if I'm ever at Discipline and you know of it, come and visit me! I'd have a legitimate excuse to get out of chores for once!"

Tanya chuckled as she ducked out of sight, hurrying down the paths as fast as her legs would let her. "I will!"

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Jem came scurrying back into the house, his hands as grubby as ever with a childishly pleased look on his face. "Kaitlin?" he called hesitantly as he entered her domain, seeing Cheeks there with her as the later tried to persuade her to give her a few of the cookies she'd just baked. 

"Come on Kaitlin, they're best when they come straight out of the oven, and we'll never eat them all tonight..." said Cheeks genially, a hopeful look in his eyes. "You know you'd love to give me one."

"Hang on a sec, Cheeks." She turned to Jem, smiling at him as usual. "Hello Jemmy-kins! Do you need something?"

"These are for you!" Jem held forth a bouquet of withered and crumpled flowers that he pulled out of his pocket, a sunny smile on his face as he righted one of the bent ones gently with his other hand. 

"Awww!!" Kaitlin whisked them from his hand and pulled out a vase she happened to randomly have stored in a cabinet. Placing the flowers in it with some water, she set them in the sunlight and then took two of the cookies from the tray and gave them to him with a smile. "Thanks, sweetie!"

Jem smiled back, and accepted the treat. "Didn't you make some tarts today too?" he ventured with an innocent smile, taking a bite of one of the cookies with a sigh of satisfaction.

"As a matter of fact I did, let me get you one...." Jem grinned at Cheek who just watched in amazement. "Here you are, Jem!  Now you run along and play."

"Thank you, Kaitlin!"

"You're welcome, Jem."

"But....he..." Kaitlin glanced over at Cheeks, who was sputtering in coherently as Jem skipped away. 

"Something for you?" she asked, raising one eyebrow ever so slightly.

Cheeks rolled his eyes and turned around to walk away as he shook his head in disbelief. "I'm going, I'm going..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Gwen and Tanner walked ashore at the next port, the rest staying on board to help with repairs and getting fresh water and food stuffs while the pair went and got the crew some extra cash. Not that it was seriously needed, but they'd had to cut into their emergency funds to replace one of the sails, some ropes, and a few iron parts and it needed to be replenished again.

Carrying a bag each, they stopped off at each vendor, showing them their goods and sitting down for formal talks each time. Gwen never said a word, but gave the owner a innocent, needy puppy face that seemed to mesmerize each one into whatever price they wanted within a semi-reasonable limit. It wasn't the sort of money they'd make if they'd entered into the usual Trader days and days of deal making, but it was better than they'd normally do. And as it was they didn't have time to be picky, they had a delivery to make and they were barely on schedule as it was with a nymph on board. 

After the third one Tanner glanced at Gwen as they walked along, an odd look coming across his face.

"What?" she asked after she saw him do it for the fourth time. "Something wrong? Do I have something on my face or what??"

Tanner studied her a moment, and the said, "Are you sure you're not a mage or something? Because I swear you're spelling every single person we go and try to sell things to... I wouldn't mind, really, I'd just like to know."

"I'm not a mage!" exclaimed Gwen. "I have not magic, alright? NO MAGIC!! I'm just...hypnotically cute when I want to be, that's all. Sort of like Libby with her boobs, only that's more along the perfect anime girl who's top heavy line...."

Tanner slowly raised an eyebrow as he turned away, going on to the next vendor with Gwen skipping along beside him. Hypnotically cute? Perfect what-ya-call-it girl? Top heavy?? He never would understand these strange friends of theirs completely, and he wasn't sure he wanted to either. "Right..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Bryanna sat weakly at the table in her and Olivia's room across from Randy, Olivia standing off to the side watching a kettle they had over the fire. There was still a dull pounding in her head from the spirits she'd drunk until she'd finally passed out into blessed oblivion, and her body felt like it had been put through a wringer and then stretched until it was nothing but rubber. If it weren't for the fact that this conversation needed to happen now, she'd probably still be in bed asleep like Olivia wanted her to be. But she'd argued that it couldn't wait, and the ice mage had finally relented. 

"The medallions need to be destroyed now," stated Bryanna abruptly, breaking the silence that had filled the room since Randy had entered the room some time ago. "All of them, even the one you usually wear...you don't have it on now, do you?"

"I took it off," admitted Randy reluctantly. "It could be dangerous, I will admit that much....but the Master could not have known what he was giving out! He would never have reason to harm one of us..."

"Randy, Bryanna has been having reactions to every medallion she's come into contact with," Olivia pointed out icily. "They're all dangerous. And how could he not know?! He's a Master Mage for crying out loud! He wouldn't be stupid enough to send out something like that without knowing it's purpose, Randy. That's why he told you not to tell me or Bryanna about it. Me because I'd mention it to her, and her because it would tip her off that something was wrong with them."

"Why would he do that?!" cried Randy angrily. "He was a good and honorable man, Olivia, to hurt someone like that-"

"He gave you something that nearly killed me!" snapped Bryanna harshly. "Do not talk about him as being honorable or nice, because it's not true! Get rid of those things, Randy, now! Before they hurt someone else!"

"There's only one way to know for sure if they hurt people who aren't healers," temporized Randy quickly. "We have time, let's retrace and go back to check in on our last teachers. If they're fine, and all is well, then you have to admit I'm right."

Bryanna blinked, then replied flatly, "I just went through a night of torturous nightmares because of you, ones that left me half dead and would've probably left me sleepless for another 24 hours if Olivia hadn't been kind enough to send me into a dreamless oblivion with that alcohol of hers. And you want me to tell you that you're right?" She paused, Randy turning away in embarrassment. "Like hell. You'd sooner find me willingly going back to the nightmares the medallion brought than for me to do that."

"Ok, alright! You've made you point," ground Randy through his teeth. "I was...partially wrong. He couldn't have done it on purpose, though! I know there'll be an explanation for this if we go and ask him..."

"I refuse to go back and see him," stated Bryanna firmly. "In fact, I refuse to leave until the medallions are gone. Reduced to nothing more than a pile of ash."

Randy stood up suddenly, slamming his fists on the table. "That's enough! You know, after all we've been through you'd think you'd trust my judgment a little more than that!!"

Olivia placed her finger on the edge of the table and a thread of ice spun from it, freezing his hands to the tabletop as she mercifully took away the cold so they wouldn't go numb with frostbite. "You've lost all right to talk about having good judgment," she growled deep in her throat. "Do it, or face me. I didn't like this 'Master' very much, and I sure as hell don't like what he's done to you or her. The medallions are gone, we're going back to check on the teachers, and only if everything's alright with ALL of them are we going back to see that guy. And that's final." Olivia released Randy's hands and took the teapot from over the fire, setting on the table with a thud before pouring them each a cup and making one for herself as well. 

"See, this is why an all female anything gets things done better than males, because we make reasonable decisions and then stick with it," said Bryanna as she accepted her drink gratefully. Randy just grumbled under his breath and sipped his tea with a pout. Women were fun to be around most of the time, but occasionally they were an absolute pain the neck...

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Cam watched from below as Jon moved Kristen on to the next set of the course. It was on one of the outer crossbeams, where she would have to step across a foot-wide gap twice in order to get over to the other side. Once again, he hadn't fully explained what she'd be doing until she was already up there, and once again blocked bodily her entrance when she tried to get out of it.

"I...I have something I have to do!" protested Kristen as he tossed the harness at her, just standing there silently with his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for her to put it on. "Come on, we go do this later..."

"No, it's the only time we both have free and you know it too," replied  Jon with a shrug. "Get going, I haven't got all day and neither do you, but if I have to I'll Cam teach your next class and Mike mine if you're going to be stubborn about it and make me wait an hour before you'll do it."

"Guys like you are the reason women commit suicide, you know that?"

"Well, girls like you are the reason men become alcoholics. Come on, get going. We had an agreement, and you're going to stick to it."

"Jerk."

"Let me tell you how much it hurt to hear you say that," said Jon in a flat monotone. "I've been called worse by my teachers."

"Good for you." Kristen finished strapping on the harness and took the lines from one of the catch ropes, clipping it to her harness. "Alright, I'm hooked up, ok?"

"Took you long enough..."

"Come on, Kristen, you can do it!" called Cam from below with an encouraging grin on his face.

"Why don't you try it and see how easy it is?" called Kristen back rather sarcastically as she made her way slowly across the beam. Making it up to the gap wasn't going to be a problem, she could walk across them rather easily as long as she didn't go to fast now. It was the gaps that gave her the problems...

"Oh, I already have."

"You what?! Jon!!"

"Hey, I didn't let him up here, per say," replied Jon with an innocent shrug as he walked along beside her on another beam. "I just happened to leave a harness and rope out one afternoon while taking my break while you just happened to be gone and he just happened to have nothing else to do..."

"You know, the sooner you get across the sooner you can smack him for it," Cam reminded her as she stopped and glared at him impotently.

"Unless I stay up in the rafters after she'd done, that is," Jon reminded him with a grin. 

"You can't stay up here forever," snapped Kristen as she approached the first gap. "And when you'd come down, I'd be waiting to smack you silly for first off letting him do it unsupervised and second for making me wait to get to smack you!"

"You know I find it especially amusing to taunt you up here where you can't retaliate," commented Jon in reply as he watched her eye the gap in front of her and slowly try and make her way over it. 

"You know, I will find it especially amusing when you finally fall off that beam because you've done one to many stupid things and break your neck on the floor below."

"Ouch, you're not in a good mood, are you?"

Kristen rolled her eyes, her fear for once taken over the by her annoyance. Who ever it was who had placed her with these five, well, she was going to wring their neck the first chance she got!

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Alyse and Landon sat across from each other in the room that had been allotted to them, very small space-wise but large enough that they could both move around freely without getting in the other's way. Two bunks stacked on top of each other sat along one wall, a clothes dresser occupying the rest of the space on the same wall. Across from it was the fire place and in the middle a small table, one end of the room having the door and the other a partitioned off space where they could change and wash in privacy. Each room was equipped with it's own water pump and sink so they could heat their own water for baths without having to haul it up, and the water closet they'd share with the rest of their floor's occupants was at the end of the hall. An oil lamp lay on the table, and another onto of the dresser, lighting the room decently.

"This is not what I was expecting when I was told I would be given new experiences in America," sighed Landon as he laid his head down on the table. "Wonders of technology, I was fine with that. Moral codes being supposedly thrown out the window, I would deal with it if it ever effected me. Taking classes I never knew even existed just to learn more about it's subject, hey, I was all for it. But being sucked into another realm with a magic spell...." The poor young man buried his face in his hands and sighed. "Had I known this would happen, I might have just stayed in bed the day the plane left for America."

"Nice to know you appreciate my company just as much as I do yours," replied Alyse dourly as she rolled her eyes. "I know things aren't what you expected them to be, but you're just going to have to deal with it..."

"Hey, I'm still here with you and not out there somewhere declaring that I've gone insane, am I?" retorted Landon lightly. "Though I feel like it sometimes, believe me..."

"You think I didn't my first time?" asked Alyse with a shrug. "Your magic didn't manifest itself, either, without your knowledge. You were given warning, and you had me to help explain things to you. I had no one, and when I did find someone they were as lost as I was."

"Ok, so you had things a little tougher than I do, still..."

Their conversation broke off as someone knocked on the door.

"Come on in!" called Alyse, rising as the door opened to reveal two people standing there in the hall. One of them to recognized immediately, the other she'd never seen before in her life. "Hey, Less. I said come in, and who's your friend?"

"Afternoon Alyse, Landon." The tall man with his straw-colored hair gave them both a twisted smile as he walked in, his companion following a moment after. "It's good to see you've settled in so quickly. I've brought your partner, the one Elcarth mentioned the other night."

From the shadows the young woman slid into the light, the first thing catching Alyse's attention being her eyes. One glittered an emerald green in the flickering light, and the other glowed with an unusual violet gleam. "I'm Revlis Ssenogard," she said with an easy smile, her voice sending shivers down Landon's spine from it's unnatural beauty. "An animal mage, specializing in cats. Panthers, to be exact." Taking one of the free seats at the table, she sat down between Alyse and Landon, Less doing so across from her. 

"Pleased to meet you, Revlis," replied Alyse with a smile of her own. "I'm Alyse, and this is my companion Landon."

"Yeah," added Landon with an embarrassed cough when he realized he'd been staring. "Pleased to meet you."

"Now that we all know each," said Less with a satisfied nod. "On to what it is you will be expected to do here..." Alyse tuned the young man out as she studied Revlis more closely, wishing to be sure she'd never forget her face in case they were separated later on. The young woman was probably between 15 to 18 years of age, obviously still in her teens though she had a very confident air about herself. Her ink-black hair was braided back at the moment, but would reach her waist if let free and contrasted greatly with her very pale skin. Her nose was arched ever so slightly, her eyes slanted like that of a cats and it's pupils slits instead of circles like the rest of theirs were.

Each movement she made was with a fluid grace that added to the cat-like nature about her. Even without the eyes, there was something definitely feline about Revlis that Alyse couldn't place her finger on. Dressed in the same dark gray leathers as everyone else, hers were closer to a faded black that most and hers were not of the same full-body-coverage design either. Her tunic was sleeveless with a short fringe around the armholes, it's length going to her waist where it split off into four pleats that came to her mid-thigh. A braided belt around her middle, the clasp was of a crouched panther, its eyes two emerald studs. Silvered armbands above her elbows, they connected to the fingerless gloves that covered her hands to her wrists with a finely-woven wrist and forearm cover of leather, wire, and metal studs. 

"Do you understand?" asked Less suddenly, bringing Alyse back to the present. 

"Yeah," replied Landon with a serious look on his face. "Though...could I have a few minutes to talk to Alyse?"

"Certainly," replied Less with a nod. "Come on, Revlis, you have to go see Elcarth before they can get their first mission, anyway."

"Alright. I'll come find you to during dinner hour and talk with you more then, alright?"

"Absolutely," replied Alyse with a nod. "See you later, Revlis."

"Same to you!"

"Now," said Landon in a low voice as the door was closed behind the pair, leaning in towards Alyse in a conspiratorial manner. "About all this mage-hunting and unmagic dealings...I'm not so sure this is safe, Alyse. Maybe we should duck out now while-"

"I wasn't really paying attention," cut in Alyse with a sheepish shrug. "Want to tell me what he said?"

Landon's face went blank as his shoulder's sagged. "You're kidding, right?"

"...no?"

"Sweet mother..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Ben followed the old woman through the servants quarters and up to where the privileged guests and those who were hired to work in the mansion for only short periods of time lived. Creeping along on tiptoes, he stuck to her closer than a shadow through the dark and gloomy hallways, past the huge, imposing doorways that lined either side of the hallways and occasionally skirting around the patches of moonlight from the skylights overhead. 

The 12th bell rang, it's echoes vibrating through the household as Nana paused and pulled him into a curtained nook on the side of the wall. A set of guards came shuffling by, both yawning to themselves as they walked on and then turned at the next side corridor, two others come out a moment later to replace them at one of the guest's doorways where a very important man was staying. Having slipped past the original two unnoticed, Ben wondered if they'd be able to do the same with these two. 

"Let's go," murmured Nana when they'd gone out of sight, slipping back out into the hallway and scuttling along towards their unknown destination as before. Coming to a set of stairs, she began the laborious work of forcing her old, arthritic bones and weak muscles to climb them in succession. Ben was at her elbow in a flash and helped her as best he could, letting her lean on him and occasionally helping her sit for a pause in the middle of the steps so she could get her breath back.

"Why are we going if it hurts you so much?" whispered Ben during one of these breaks, watching as she rubbed some feeling back in her numb limbs.

"Because the reward is worth the pain," replied Nana with a conspiratorial grin. "And it is a reward that comes only every few weeks, and then in those few times it is present the conditions are right only two or three times to fully enjoy it during the year."

"Oh..."

Helping her to her feet again a few moments later, they reached the top of the stairs not long after and then walked through what appeared to be the attic. Coming to a short ladder that went through the ceiling, Ben went after Nana who slowly made her way up those as well, slowly and surely though it was obvious she paid a high price to get up them. Ben followed quickly after, coming up on the roof of the mansion, looking up and seeing the heavens above alight with shining stars and brilliant full moon that lit the surrounding area as if it were day.

"Is this what you wanted to show me, Nana?" he whispered in awe as he moved closer to her, huddling in her cloak as he shivered from the cold, night air though his eyes were still focused on the wondrous expanse above. 

"Yes, youngling, it is." Nana sighed in content as she sat on an old stone bench up there, putting an arm around him as he sat beside her. "It is the one thing the Master can never spoil, try as he might. He has destroyed the forests that were once here and turned them to swamp, he has destroyed the once prosperous town beside him and turned it into his slave. He was taken his servants' once enjoyable life and turned it into a misery. But this is the one thing he can never take from us...nor touch with his filthy hands. He can cover it with his clouds of doom and ill luck, but even then it finds a way to break through every once in awhile. Luckily for it, it is too far away."

Ben felt himself smile in the dark as he nodded. "It's beautiful, Nana. Thank you."

"Oh, I'm not done, youngling," chuckled the old, wizened woman merrily. "Now you shall learn about them. That one up there, to your right, is the Guide Star and those around it form the Compass Rose..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Brenna walked along the fields, Jem following as he'd taken to roaming over them and plucking what weed flowers he could find and giving them to Kaitlin to get treats. A weed she'd never seen before had taken over most of them, one that had a thick stalk and four broad leaves that protruded from the center and no more. None of them grew taller than a few inches, but they were a nuisance none the less. The strangest part was their coloring, being of a sickly grayish-green but never dying off on their own even after having been there for weeks, and spotted with random patches of black.

"Is the crop going to come in alright, even with these weeds?" asked Jem as he followed Brenna on her inspection, refusing to touch the weeds but looking at them with her just the same.

"I don't know," admitted Brenna with a shrug. "They shouldn't cause anymore of a problem than the regular weeds, but where they came from is beyond me... It's like they just came out of nowhere."

"Oh..."

"Did you want me to start plowing the south fields today?" asked Cheeks as he came jogging up, eyeing the weeds as he did. "We're going to have to get the wheat planted soon if you wanted to get an early harvest in about midsummer like we couldn't last year."

"Yeah, south fields would be the best place for that," replied Brenna with a firm nod. "Go ahead, I'll get over to the compost heap and see how that's doing as far as fertilizer for this year and then get to the seeds for those fields as soon as I can."

"Ok, see you around dinner then..."

"South fields used to be where the little red flowers would grow," whispered Jem as he and Brenna turned back towards the house. "But they were all choked out when the weeds cam in."

"Don't worry, they grow out in the forest too," replied Brenna as she gave him an affectionate pat on the head. "I'll show you someday, ok?"

"Ok!"

**later that evening...**

Cheeks dragged himself in for dinner, drenched in sweat and tired to the bone. 

"Cheeks, you didn't do all the fields in the south range, did you??" scolded Brenna as she shoved a glass with some water towards him. "I told you part of it could wait until tomorrow last night..."

"I didn't even get a single field done," replied Cheeks wearily as he gulped down the water. "The weeds....my gosh....they don't look like much on top, but their roots go a foot or so deep and as like wood! See??" He pulled a root out of his pocket, as thick as his wrist at the top and tapering down to a mere thread at the tip, more than a foot an a half in length and so tough that Brenna had to saw through it with her good belt knife to see it's center.

"Holy cow...it is practically wood..." she murmured as she inspected it, then took it and tossed it in the fire. "Look at it...the fire's hardly even leaving a mark on it!"

Libby came in right then, a frown on her face. "Well, we almost foundered to horses," she sighed as she sat by Cheeks. "I don't know what you're planning on doing, but the horses can't pull the plow through fields like that in pairs."

"This is insane," snorted Brenna as she sat back down as well. "I can't believe it, you didn't even get through one field Cheeks?? Are you sure??"

"There's four down there, right?"

"Yeah?"

"I got halfway through the right corner one."

"Lord..."

"Something bad happen?" asked Kaitlin as she came in with a pot roast, seeing all the serious faces in the room. 

"Nothing that we can fix right now," replied Brenna with a shrug. "Come on, you guys, let's eat and we can discuss this some more after dinner. Rupal, Jem, dinner's ready!"

The pair came from upstairs where Jem had been taking another reading lesson and sat around the table, the 6 of them partaking of the meal as one. Whatever it was that was happening, they'd face it together. They were a family, and that's what families did.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Trevor lay staring at the ceiling above his head, his thoughts swimming around in his aching head as he tried to make sense of the dreams that had driven him from sleep once again. None of them made sense at all, and while none of them was anything like the last he somehow got the feeling that they weren't connected at all. Trying to puzzle it out some more, Tanner came by his hammock and touched his shoulder, seeing he was already awake in surprise.

"You didn't sleep again?" the older brother asked in worry.

"Couldn't," replied Trevor with a shrug as he levered himself from the hammock wearily. "My watch?"

"Yeah, everything's pretty calm tonight and Nicole's waiting for you at the tiller. I'd hurry if I were you, she tends to have a little bit too much using her winds to steer the ship since she's not big enough to use the helm..."

"I'm going." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Bro...something's not right. I don't know what it is, but...be careful and watch your back, alright?"

"You don't think the Captain's got something planned she hasn't told us about, do you?" asked Tanner suspiciously.

"No, it's not her," replied Trevor with a weary shrug. "It's not this crew, or the ship, or the weather...I don't know what it is, but something's not right. Just be careful, alright? And keep a close eye on Tyler, he has a tendency to do dumb things like you used to."

"Yeah, I will," replied Tanner with a good-natured shrug. " He's my brother as much as he is yours. Go get to your watch, Trev."

"I'm going..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

The group finally finished their present course of study and moved on, heading out north a few days like they were supposed to before doubling back on their trail and heading to the south towards where their last teacher was, intent upon checking in as planned upon each and everyone they'd had since Randy had gotten the medallions from the creepy teacher.

Randy hadn't been thrilled about it, as had been expected, but due to Olivia's threat to being frozen solid and then tied to his horse for the trip if he didn't cooperate, he came along quietly enough and kept his grumbling to himself most of the time. 

"We'll reach the last town we stayed in by tomorrow around lunchtime," commented Olivia from where she led the group, the map spread out in front of her as she trusted her horse to stay on the road long enough for them to figure out where they were. "Anyone figured out how we're going to check on things without being noticed?"

"You mean students randomly returning right after having left isn't normal?" replied Randy sarcastically. "I don't know, this wasn't my idea after all."

"In that case, we'll give Randy a beard and dye his hair gray and send him in the store as a 'customer'," said Bryanna from the back. "Or we would if we thought we could trust him to come out with the truth."

"Hey, are you calling me a liar?!"

"No, just a stupid dupe who doesn't know what the truth is."

"ENOUGH." Olivia rubbed her temples slowly. "I'm not your mother, so would you both kindly stop acting like children?"

"You could just leave us here to starve like children, then," shot back Randy. "Freeze our horse's hooves to the ground, or something like that."

"Don't tempt me."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Jon stood on the other side of the training hall on one of the raise platforms, Kristen slowly walking across her original beam with nothing but a safety rope about her waist, the harness left on the floor below. She wobbled ever so slightly halfway through and paused, Jon watching impassively as Cam stood beside him holding his breath and with fingers crossed.

"Easy," called Jon as Kristen began to freeze up. "Don't think about the beam, or what's underneath it, focus on the fact that Mike was in your room again today and probably left you a nasty surprise somewhere in there..."

"He was what?!"

"Yeah, I saw him come out while you were in the kitchen eating breakfast."

"He wasn't upstairs, he was down in his room puking up everything from the night before since he'd gotten himself drunk again at Brak's," whispered Cam in confusion.

"Yeah, but she doesn't know that," replied Jon in a low voice, winking at the younger boy as Kristen squared her shoulders and forced herself to keep going, reaching the other side faster than before.

"Thanks for the lesson, I have to go find Matt and beat some sense into him now," said Kristen as she untied the rope and went down the ladder as fast as she dared, going to find Mike with her right eye twitching.

"Uh, shouldn't you tell her that was a lie?" asked Cam carefully as he watched her go.

"And turn that wrath upon myself, no thanks," replied Jon with a shrug. "Besides, it'll be good for Mike, take his ego down a peg or two."

Cam just arched an eyebrow as Jon slid down a rope to the floor below, then sauntered off in the opposite direction. "I will never understand grownups...."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Landon sat beside Less on one of the benches in the practice courts, Alyse and Revlis sparring lightly for the practice as well as to gauge their new partner's skills. He couldn't follow their movement's half the time, and the flash of Alyse's fan confused his eyes to the point he wasn't sure he could ever follow it well enough to put up a solid defense against it. 

"Wow..."

"They are amazing," admitted Less with a shrug. "Revlis is one of our more noteworthy knife users. And she's always got a spare pair hidden somewhere in that outfit of hers if she drops or loses one in a battle." A sharp hiss rang through the air as Alyse twisted her fan around one of Revlis's expertly and sent it flying in the air. "Like that. See if you can figure out where Revlis has got her other pair hidden today when she brings it out in the open."

"Ok..." Landon watched and was surprised when, as the younger woman jumped back suddenly, she discreetly flicked her hand up under her other arm and produced a smaller, but similar dagger to her first. "Ah! There, under her arm..."

"Yes, that is where she usually keeps them, tucked in those armbands of hers," confirmed Less with a nod. "They had many uses, that they do."

"Does Revlis use any other weapons besides her daggers?" asked Landon quizzically. 

"Oh, all of us are given rudimental training in sword, staff, and weighted ropes," explained Less with a shrug. "But she's also taken a liking to the bow, and is very good at it indeed. Not as good as her knife use, but then again she doesn't get to use it nearly as often..." Less paused as Revlis came close to disarming Alyse, then was driven back again. "Man...one fan only and she's kept it up this long...I think we could get her another if she'd let her use her original one as a pattern. What do you fight with, Landon? You must be as amazing as your friend is if you've had the same training..."

"I have a short sword," replied Landon slowly. "But I am not nearly as good with it as she is her fan. I'm still not very comfortable with any weapon, actually, I was more of a peacemaker than a fighter back home."

"Which is why we put you with her, actually," admitted Less with a shrug. "Your friend shall seek the source of the taint, you destroy it, and then Revlis has been trained to destroy it's inhabited body, whether it be human or beast. That's why her chosen shift-shape is a panther, a powerful hunter that slips through the darkness unnoticed." 

Their attention was drawn from each other as Alyse suddenly knocked both of Revlis's weapons away again, the young woman backing up a step and grinning wickedly. She said a single word and dropped to the ground, landing on all fours as a giant, black panther that charged towards Alyse, knocked away the fan with a single sweep and knocked the woman over with her sheer weight before pouncing on her and sitting on her stomach.

"Holy cow!!" Landon stood up and ran to Alyse's side, trying to skirt around the panther that was on top of her. "Alyse!! Alyse, come on, say something!!"

"There's a very large panther on me," said Alyse in a dazed voice, her eyes looking right past him as he bent over her head to the ceiling above. "Ack....kinda hard to breath with all the weight..."

"Get off her, Revlis," ordered Less as he came over as well, the panther doing so immediately. Pausing a few steps away, it stood on its hind legs and was Revlis again, with a sheepish smile on her face. "Revlis, you know better than to do that without warning them first..."

"Sorry," she said apologetically as Landon helped Alyse to her feet. "It's habit, really, to go panther when I've lost my weapons in a fighter. Are you ok, Alyse?"

"A little banged up is all," replied Alyse slowly as she dusted herself off and stretched. "A little warning before you do that next time would be nice..."

"Yeah, sure!"

"Now that you've seen Revlis shape-shift for the first time, why don't we head over to the mess hall and get some food," advised Less as he took Alyse's other arm and picked her fan back up off the ground. "That was a very well fought battle, and deserves a bit of a celebration in honor of it!"

"We get to celebrate because I was pounced on by a panther??"

"You don't have to put it quite like that, you know!" protested Revlis with a pout. "I did my best not to hurt you, just to scare you a bit!"

Alyse rolled her eyes, her lips forming into a quirked smile. "You succeeded, believe me."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Briteyes sat in one of the abandoned side gardens of Winding Circle again, Silven frisking about and exploring the place as she sat there and played in meditation as Niko had advised her to. She's met him right after she'd 'recovered' the second time, and had been taking a few lessons from him to prove she had full control over her powers. He had admitted she had control, but hadn't fully explored the complete scope of her abilities and made her promise to experiment a little bit under controlled conditions before she left Winding Circle while he was absent. 

Someone tapped her on her shoulder, bringing her out of her trance in surprise. Seeing a tray had been set before her with lunch on it she picked up one of the sandwiches and bit into it, glancing about questioningly. Tanya sat beside her with a tray of her own, eating just as hungrily and drinking from the mug she had set beside her.

Glancing down, Briteyes found a similar mug next to her and took a sip from it cautiously. Tasting Rosethorn's mint tea, she gulped it instead and grinned when she's drunk enough to wet her throat. "Thanks, Tanya. Rosethorn send you out here?"

"Mmhm," replied Tanya with a nod and a shy grin. "I was supposed to study with her this afternoon on some herbs she alone can grow in her garden, but she's been called to the hub and told me to take the afternoon off with you."

"That was very kind of her," said Briteyes with a nod. "And I'm glad to see you again, how've you been?"

"Well fed, and well worked," replied Tanya with a wry grin and a shrug. "Novices are worked to the bone, no one can deny that, but they also can't deny that we're given a decent place to sleep, better than decent meals, and lives that actually mean something. All the work we do is for the good of the temple when we're not studying or learning something new."

"It sounds like a good life," said Briteyes softly. 

"I wish I were free like you, though, sometimes," went on Tanya. "Wandering from place to place, never having to listen to anyone, keeping your own hours and with magic to boot...like must be great for you!"

"You forget to add in sleeping on the ground in the rain when you can't find shelter, going hungry when there is no work, and having parts of your past forgotten that you'll probably never reclaim again," Briteyes reminded the younger girl gently. "In a way, I would much rather have your life than my own. I could be a novice here, I think, if I'd never been introduced to the ways of the performer. They have me by the throat, though, and won't let go. I'll probably leave again before long, and see what fortune I can find on my own again."

#Not entirely on your own# Silven reminded her as she popped up on her knee suddenly. 

"Not entirely on my own," admitted Briteyes with a shrug. "I'll always have you to tag along, won't I, Silven?"

#That's right you will!!"

"Aww....come here, little squirrel, I'll give you a treat..." Tanya reached forward coaxingly with one hand as she pulled some candied nuts out of her pouch. Silven began to drool as she tried to resist, tried to back away...

#Is it wrong to give into animal instincts???# she asked Briteyes as she tried to wipe the drool from her mouth without being obvious. 

"Go on, it's just a few nuts," replied Briteyes encouragingly. 

Silven shot forward and grabbed the nuts, letting Tanya pet and scratch her behind the ears. #Ahh...nothing wrong with giving into temptation occasionally...I'm just making her happy, right?#

Briteyes just shrugged, a teasing gleam in her eyes. "She's a very docile little squirrel, isn't she?"

"Yeah, how'd you train her?"

"Oh, I didn't, she's just smart like that, she knows where the candied nuts are...and if she cooperates, she gets as many as Gorse can stuff down her throat."

#Fattest squirrel in the land!# replied Silven happily as she patted her rounding tummy.

"Fattest squirrel is right..." Briteyes wiped her mouth on the napkin that came with the food and sipped the last of her tea, picking up her lute a moment later and beginning to compose a song as Silven and Tanya played together on the grass nearby. She wasn't sure what it was for, nor what the words would be, but she had a melody, and it was a start.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Jem helped Kaitlin in the kitchen, as content as ever with his new home but with a frown on his young face for once. "Something wrong?" asked Kaitlin with a frown of her own as she handed a pot to him to wash off.

"Oh, no!" he replied quickly, putting his usual, open smile on in an instant. 

"Are you sure?" she replied carefully, checking the pie she had in the oven before coming and leaning on the counter beside him. "It's not like you to look so serious. Cheek's been mean to you? Or did Libby say something? I'll make you a nice rabbit stew if she did, you know..."

"No, of course not!" he replied in shock, his dropped jaw turning to a smile as she winked and he realized she was just teasing him. "Everyone's nice to be like they've always been, and even though you guys keep my busy I like my work...it's just..."

"Just what?" prodded Kaitlin, taking the now-clean pot from him and drying it with a towel from the rack.

"Just...bad luck seems to follow me everywhere I go..." Jem bowed his head as he began to clean off a particularly stubborn dish. "And now here with the weeds in the fields...I feel bad about it but there's nothing I can do to help."

"Oh, Jem, you're worried about nothing," Kaitlin assured him quickly. "There's nothing you did to cause all this, understand? Brenna and Cheeks will figure out a way to pull through it, they always do. With Rupal to manage the money, those two the crops, Libby the animals, and me my kitchen there's nothing that's going to happen, you hear me??"

"I hear you." Jem smiled sheepishly as he handed her the plate and she dried it and put it away as well. "And I know you're right, because they were able to save me and bring me here like they did."

"Then you're going to stop thinking and worrying about it?"

"Yes, ma'am, I will."

"Don't call me ma'am," replied Kaitlin, making a face. "It makes me feel old, and I am not old!! I'm not even 20 yet, thank you kindly. Now, Amanda, she might be old...heck, I think she'd be around 20 or even 21 by now!! Yeah, she's practically ancient compared to the rest of us..." Jem laughed as he handed her the last dish, sparkling clean as always. Aunt Kaitlin sure was funny sometimes...

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Are you sure there's anything out here?" asked Jenny worriedly as Tanner expertly guided them into the desolate cove.

"It's back here, and you promised if I could find it without going past it we could stay and visit for a fortnight," replied Trevor with a grin.

"That I did," admitted Jenny with a shrug. "Very well, if it's back here we'll stay. If not, and you scrape my baby trying to get her back out of here you're paying for the damages, you two."

"Fine by me," replied Tanner with a shrug. "Because I know we're home."

"Ease her in through that opening there, to the other bay," instructed Trevor. "And remember, stick to the left until you're past the overhand and then move her out to the middle..."

"I know, I've piloted these waters before when we had a ship, same as any family," replied Tanner shortly. "Used to do it all the time with Father before he lost his legs..."

"How'd he lose them?" asked Jenny as they eased their way through a fifty-foot wide crack in between two sea cliffs. 

"Pirates," replied Trevor softly. "It started out as just a slice that went across both shins, but he let them get infected and lost them up to above his knees."

"Oh..." Jenny paused, and was about to apologize for asking at all when she was shocked speechless, the sight that unfolded before her amazing as any she'd seen before.

A small town sat right on the edge of the protected bay they'd sailed into, thriving with people as fishing boats went to and fro throughout the bay itself. A high sea cliff 

"Auntie!!" yelled Tyler as he scampered over to the edge of the boat just as they passed a small canoe on the portside. Scouts on the walls had spotted Trevor and Tanner at the helm and trumpeted a greeting to those in the bay itself, giving the signal that the ship was welcome and no threat at all. "Aunt Zella, we're home!!"

"Tyler!! Good to see ye, lad!"

"Bring her 'round to the old dock!!" yelled one of the fisherman in tradertalk as a few of the faster crafts took off towards the shore. "We'll have her cleared up for you there, Tanner!"

"Thank you, Jaden!" replied Tanner in the same language with a wave.

"A word to the wise," called Trevor over the deck where the offworlders had gathered. "Don't speak Common while you're here. Tradertalk is what's taught, mainly, and only those who ever plan to leave the town are taught Common."

"That's going to take some getting used to," said Jack in slow tradertalk, his tongue fumbling around the unfamiliar syllables. "And my grammar's perfect when I speak in this language. It...it's horrible." He dropped back into Common with a grin. "I just realized there's no word for 'sucks' in trader. Or 'blows', either. Not with the right innuendo, I mean."

"Isn't that a big word for you?" asked Nicole as she flew overhead in trader. "It has more than five letters, after all..."

"Shaddup, you!"

"Make me!"

"Stop it now, both of you!" ordered Jenny as they neared the dock. "Tyler, Jack, get the ropes ready you're jumping if they don't have anyone there to catch the lines for us! Gwen, get the gangplank ready for once they've got her tied up, and Trev you give her a hand! Tanner, watch how you're bringing her in because I'd like to get her back out in one piece..."

"Yes, Captain," he replied laughing. "I will be very careful, I swear."

"Trow de line right hea!" yelled one of the fisherman with only half his teeth as he ran along the dock, stopping by one of the posts and holding his hands out at the ready.

"Catch!" called Tyler as he tossed it out, taking one himself and jumping from the deck to the dock the moment he was sure he could make it. Jack followed a moment later, helping them haul the boat as close to the padded edge of the dock as they dared and secure it there. Gwen had the railing taken down and the gangplank in place a moment later, settled as well as it would with the slight roll of the boat in the gentle waves of the secret bay.

"She's in place, Captain!" called Tanner as he tied the helm in place and then jumped over the railing to join her on the main deck. "It's all set, Jen. Shall we?"

"It's your home, by all means, go!" replied Jenny with a shrug. 

"Thank you, ma'am!"

"They're sure happy to be home, aren't they?" asked Gwen as they followed their three companions out into the throng of people waiting to greet them. 

"Yes," replied Jenny with a nod. "And I would be too."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Bryanna sat at the pub across from the mage's workshop, having traded her student uniform for some wench's rags that they got with a hood to cover her face. Sipping her watered-down ale and slowly eating the still-hot plate of beef stew and bread, she sat there for a better part of two hours as she watched and waited. Nothing seemed wrong at all, nothing on the outside, anyways. He was still the same healthy, albeit a little sour old man they'd known when they'd been here last. If only there was a way she could speak with him to be sure, then she'd feel for certain. But they'd agree not to speak to him at all, and simply observe, so she couldn't. 

Heading back to the Inn where they were staying, she went up to their room and shrugged at Olivia and Randy's questioning looks. "I'm not sure," she explained as Olivia raised both eyebrows slightly. "He looks good enough from what I saw, he's still alive and kicking. But I really want to just have a few words with him..."

"No," replied Randy simply. "We had a deal, and he's fine, see? I told you, there was nothing to worry about. I say, since it's obviously nothing, we head back towards the University and hand in the seals we have thus far. It should be almost enough for graduation into our Mastery, after all."

"The deal was we're going to check on all the teachers, not just this one," replied Olivia firmly before Bryanna could even open her mouth. "Therefore, no. After all, he could be immune to the effects, just like you are, but the next one may not've been so lucky. You saw what it did to Bryanna, and that could kill someone if they don't know how to stop it. We're going on like planned."

"Fine..."

Bryanna went over to the window and looked out at the town below, the people bustling along like there was absolutely nothing all and going about their business as usual. It seemed very peaceful here, and she hoped the mage who they'd been taught by was fine, regardless of the medallion. Little did she know, no matter who you are, nor the type of mage that holds it, the medallion's power, the taint within, will eat anything living and leaving naught by a human-shaped husk in it's place...

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Mike and Matt sat on the same side of the table during dinner, Kristen and Cam across from them with Chris and Jon at either end. The remains of a loaf of bread, a full roasted chicken, and a bowl of greens sat in the middle of the table, three of the people nursing ales and the other three sipping their tea or coffee. 

"So tell me, Kristen, how's the new class going?" asked Matt in a taunting voice as he glanced at over of the rim of his mug. "Obviously you've managed to make it across once you'd still be there instead of here with us at dinner. Unless of course Jon had to pick you up and carry you to the other side..."

"No, he just gets her to go across with promises of beating one of us as soon as she gets to the bottom," replied Mike dourly as he gingerly touched the top of his head where a large knot now resided.

"Hey, I got just as much as you did out of that," Jon reminded them as he picked up his ice again and put it on his black eye. Kristen didn't have much of an arm, but her aim with apples could be deadly when she was quite upset.

Cam touched Kristen's arm, the young woman still sipping her coffee as silently as ever, refusing to even acknowledge the others' presence at the moment.

"If you think its so easy, why don't you go do it then," offered Chris as he sopped the last of his gravy from the chicken with his bread. "I bet you could even do it without the safety rope."

"No, I wouldn't want to impose on Jon like that," replied Matt quickly. "He's so busy, after all, giving Kristen her extra classes plus his regular ones..."

"That, and I wouldn't trust him," added Mike quickly. "I mean, no offense Jon, but you're not the most trusted person in the world. Now, maybe if it were Matt running the ropes and not him I'd do it, but Jon you wouldn't want to teach Matt your secrets, right? And the time it would take, well, we're all busy people...it just couldn't be done."

"Oh, no," replied Jon quickly with a smirk on his face. "I'd be more than happy to take the time to show Matt how to run the ropes, and that wouldn't take more than a minute or two at the most. I could show you too, Mike, so you could do it for Matt so he wouldn't be wasting my 'precious time.' How's that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Chris with a teasing glint in his eyes. "What do you say, boys?"

"I say Marlin is about to open his pub for the night and I don't intend to miss a minute of it as I'm meeting one Miss Angelic there tonight," replied Mike as he rose quickly. "Later."

"Yeah," added Matt as he got up as well. "I'm with him."

Kristen watched them leave with a slightly satisfied smirk on her face. "I hate to say this, but thanks, Chris."

"Oh, so I'm not entirely a male chauvinist pig?" he asked lightly.

Kristen shook her head as she rolled her eyes. "No, you're just an anti-feminist swine."

"Ouch..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

_'The Hunters are hunting Unmagic, or the Taint as we call it normally, not people. Our call and duty is to protect everyone from the taint in anyway we can, even if it means killing someone else who's been possessed by it or willingly took it upon themselves in the process...'_

Alyse brushed her hair out of her eyes as those words still lingered in her mind, words Less had said to her right before they left the place with Revlis in tow. It was their first 'mission', the one they would use to start off their career together. 

All of them were dressed as usual, Revlis in her special gray leathers, Alyse in her skirt and leathers and Landon his leathers and pants. They'd been given a set of matched, gray mares with silver manes braided so they wouldn't flow in the wind. 

"You do know the way, right?" asked Alyse as they topped another hill, Revlis the lead as they continued at a steady trot. 

"Check and see," offered Revlis with a grin. "You're the mage, after all, I'm just a cat girl." Alyse fell into her trance after securing herself to the saddle, looking ahead with her mage vision and scanning for the presence of Unmagic they were supposed to be headed for.

"We're turning left here," said Landon as close as he could get to her ear so she'd hear him without having to come out of the trance. "Will that take us closer?"

Alyse gave the barest of nods, slowly falling back into her body and holding tight to the reins as her world righted itself once more. "It's just up ahead," she said as she shook her head to clear her vision of the dancing light spots. "How long did Elcarth say they'd let him alone because there was no one would could deal with the cache of unmagic that'd be left?"

"About two years, so he'll be very deeply rooted in," replied Revlis with a shrug. "And probably overly confident as well. Unmagic seems to have that affect on people..."

"So do you think it'll be easy or hard?"

"Oh, rather easy," replied the cat girl with another shrug. "All the first assignments are. Even though I've been on circuit since I was 13, it's still your first time so they're not going to expect anything bit of you."

"Yet." added Landon to the end of that.

"Yeah, yet," admitted Revlis with a shrug. "That should be it right up there...the horses should be fine if we leave them tied out of site in the woods."

"Very well." Dismounting, Alyse tied up her mare behind a thicket before going back to Landon and giving him a hand down. He still hadn't gotten used to using beasts as a means of travel, and had trouble occasionally getting on or off them. 

"You're good at everything, you know that?" he complained as he tied up his mare next to hers. "It's not fair."

"I never said it would be," she replied with a shrug. "Now be quiet, we'll be in hearing range in a few moments."

"Yes, ma'am...." 

With Revlis leading the way they walked through the woods, coming into the clearing where the unmagic mage was said to be a few moments later. No seeing anyone, Landon sat down and took out his short sword, plunging it straight down into the ground in front of him and trancing out like Alyse had. She and Revlis stood guard as he did his work, running his magic self through the ground and destroying all tint of unmagic that he found in around the area as far as his reach would go. Once he was sure every bit had been destroyed, and then converted back to magic of life itself, he pulled himself back out into reality.

"Tired?" asked Alyse in a low voice as Revlis slowly approached a body that hadn't been there a few moments before. The man, whoever it was, was obviously in a great deal of pain as he twisted and writhed on the ground.

"Very," he admitted as he stumbled to his feet with her help. 

"Go out into the woods," said Revlis suddenly. "I'll join you in a minute." She glanced back and met Alyse's eyes with her own, jerking her head towards the woods as she did.

"We can't leave her here," protested Landon as Alyse nodded and turned her back on the young woman. 

"She'll meet us," explained Alyse quite simply, taking his arm and bringing him with her in a firm, but gentle manner. A few moments later there was a scream, and then silence. Revlis appeared a few moments later, cleaning her blade on a bit of cloth that she tucked in her pouch when she was done. "It's done?"

"He won't be bothering us again," replied Revlis with a wry grin. "And now on to the next town. We're just doing a sweep from now on, right?"

"Unless we meet up with another one like him, yes."

"Good."

Landon watched, completely baffled, as both young women simply turned and went back for their horses, untying them and mounting again as quickly as possible. 

"Are you coming?" asked Revlis in a confused manner as he just stood there, staring at them.

"Yeah," he replied as he snapped out of it. "It's just...you seem to think of taking another's life as so easy...or at least in my opinion."

Alyse gave him a strained smile, her eyes seeing something from the past that he could only imagine. "It gets easier, unfortunately, with time. In war, it's kill or be killed. That's the way I see it right now."

"We could get out of this war, though, if we really wanted to, right?"

Alyse sighed and shrugged, turning her horse in the directions of Summersea. "I don't know."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Briteyes sat in the kitchen of Discipline cottage facing Rosethorn and Lark, all three with somber looks on their faces. "I'm sorry, I don't want to seem ungrateful," whispered the performer as she adjusted the strings on her lute again. "But...something's been pulling me to go back out again for awhile now. I have to go..."

"We knew you would eventually," said Lark soothingly as she laid her hand over the young woman's gently. "And in hoping to make things a little easier for you we have some things for you..." She glanced over at Rosethorn, who stood and brought a staff and two packages from one of the closets. 

"You didn't have to..."

"We wanted to," said Rosethorn gruffly as she handed them over, letting Silven scamper up her arm after she'd deposited them on the table and scratching the small beast behind the ears gently. "It's been an unusually long while since either Lark or I had a student, and having you around has been a change for the better."

Briteyes smiled as she inspected the staff first. It was just the right height for her and perfectly weighted as well with a silvered cap at either end, it's length smoothed and polished to a perfect shine with a leather handle grip towards the middle. "It's wonderful..."

"It's so you can protect yourself without getting yourself killed next time," came a low voice from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Frostpine standing there, a satisfied look on his face. 

"Thank you very much." Briteyes nodded to him graciously, then turned to the first package. She undid the strings and pealed back the cloth, pulling out a set of clothes similar to her original ones with a few simple changes. Her pants were still the same midnight blue with a silver fringe at the bottom, but the top now consisted of three pieces that she could mix and match any way she wanted. The first was a long-sleeved shirt with a high collar, in a lighter shade of blue than the pants. There was a tunic to go over it with sleeves long enough that it could be worn without the shirt the same color of the pants. The last part was a short poncho of sorts, a blue-gray with a hood that had been waterproofed to keep off the rain and cold in any weather. Briteyes was surprised beyond belief. "Lark...! I can't accept this, it's far nicer that what I had before..."

"Respectable performers but look respectable and not like walking rag bags," replied Lark with a wink. "And what's left of your old ones are nothing but rags!"

"That is very true..."

"Open your last one, dearheart," said Lark with a grin. "It's something I think you will appreciate as well, seeing as you were worried if your scar would cause you a problem..."

Briteyes touched the mentioned line that ran down the length of her face, and then the side scar that had been added to it from the edge of her eye to her ear sometime during...well she wasn't exactly sure when she'd gotten it, but it must've been rather recent as it hadn't fully healed yet and was still pink around the edges. Picking up the package, she unwrapped it carefully and pulled out four pots of paint, a brush, and a white, wooden mask. Carefully she put it on, feeling it mould around the edges of her face. It went from her hair line to below her right eye and over her nose, then across and down to the edge of her left cheek to completely cover all traces of the scar. Gently pulling it off, she glanced up at Rosethorn who was paying more attention to Silven that usual. "Rosethorn..."

"It was a favor from an old friend," the dedicate said roughly with a shrug. "And I know how important appearances are to a performer. I have lived with one for many years now, you know." She looked up and gave Briteyes a slight smile. 

"Thank you." 

"There is a condition on that mask," added Rosethorn as Briteyes began to pack it back up again. Briteyes gave the dedicate a questioning look as she went on. "You have to come back to visit. Promise?" 

The performer smiled in relief, then nodded. "I promise." 

"When do you plan to leave?" asked Frostpine as he came in and sat down at the table with them. 

"Tomorrow at dawn, if I can," came the quick reply. 

"Well, best of luck to you," said the smith as he shook her hand warmly. 

"You've promised you'll return," said Lark as the bell ran at the hub, signaling the change of dedicates who had to watch the fires. She rose quickly and gave the performer a quick hug. "You'd better do so or I'll hunt you down, missy! I wove those clothes you're wearing, I could find them anywhere."

"I don't doubt that you could," replied Briteyes with a grin. "I will come back soon when I either find what it is that's calling to me or I tire of looking for it and want someplace warm to sleep and a few decent meals again."

"I'll hold you to that..." She left at a fast walk for the main temple, pulling her hood up against the soft patter of rain outside as she did. 

"I wish there was something I could do in return for all this," murmured Briteyes as Silven came back to her, tugging on her ear playfully as she settled on her shoulder.

#You could always write them each a song# offered Silven with a wicked grin.

Rosethorn, who'd been let in on Silven's 'range' by Moonstream, paled. "No. Absolutely not. Don't you even think about it..."

Frostpine glanced at her a puzzled look on his face. "Rosethorn, is something wrong?"

Briteyes chuckled to herself as Silven winked at the dedicate who floundered to save herself from sounding crazy without giving Silven's secret away. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Libby sat by Brenna on the back porch, watching the sun set as Jem and Cheeks wandered out in the distance towards the woods before dinner. "This is going to be a very tough season, I think," commented Brenna as she continued to go through the seed packs from the bin beside her, half of them ruined by some unknown disease that shriveled them up into nothing more than black dust. "Weeds tough as nails out in the fields, and now this...one has to wonder if we haven't been cursed or something like that."

"I didn't want to say anything while Jem's around because he's so worried about everything thing, but some of the animals aren't doing well either," said Libby tiredly as she ran her fingers through Pinky's pink fur lovingly. "It's mainly the goats, but a few of the sheep are catching whatever it is too. I think it's from eating some of those black-spotted weeds out in the pasture, but I'm not sure. One of the goats already died, though he was pretty old to begin with, and when Cheeks chopped him up to be made into stew he found most of the meat and the intestines had been rotted out already."

"Oh Lord..."

"I think we should sell the ones that are left while we still can," offered Libby with a shrug. "It's the best thing I can think of, anyways. We don't know how to fight it, and when I asked that animal-healer guy down in town when I went with Rupal that other day, he looked at me like I was crazy. I've got some potential buyer already, and if we can't make a profit we'll at least break even..."

"Have any of the other animals come down with it yet?" asked Brenna with a hint of fear in her voice, running a hand through her long, black tresses. 

"No, not yet, but then again all the rest of them are fed hay and oats from last year's harvest," replied Libby quietly. "I'm keeping an eye on them, though. If some of them so much as start to sniffle, well...we just might have to sell the whole lot of them."

"I hope it doesn't come to that, because if it does your bunnies are going to have to go as well."

"I could maybe give up some of them..." replied Libby slowly. "Just not the original ones, like Pinky, Rose, and Iforget."

"Have Rupal go with you to the market tomorrow and see what you can do," stated Brenna as she rose slowly, taking with her the seeds that were still good and leaving those that were left for Cheeks to dispose of somehow. "She's better at making a bargain that any of us are. Don't tell Jem why, though, if he asks. If he won't let it alone, we'll say there's a better market for cows this year than for goats and sheep."

"You really don't want him to worry, do you?" asked Libby in surprise as she stood up as well.

"He's always so concerned for us...he needs to worry less about life. He's only a child," replied Brenna sadly. "If anything, we should be more worried about him than he us. As long as he's with us, until he's a little older at least, I want him to be happy anyway I can."

"Auntie Libby! Auntie Brenna! I got flowers for you!" Jem suddenly called from the distance, running to meet them with a few dandelions in his hands. 

Libby smiled as she waved back. "Yeah, he deserves it."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Jenny couldn't believe how easily they'd been adopted into the clan upon arrival, all of Tanner, Trevor, and Tyler's aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, and parents making them like one of their own. Even Nicole had been accepted, as strange as she was, and was a favorite with a children who were amazed at her flying abilities and laughed at her silly antics. Jack had settled in with the other single males as they eyed the females and acted tough and manly around each other. Gwen, of course, had found herself her own little group of oddlings and had a great deal of fun running about with them and causing all sorts of mischief.

They'd been there just about a week when Jenny was drawn aside by Tanner's mother, a slim woman with slightly darker skin than her sons and bright eyes that never missed anything around her. Gwen and Jack were busy munching away at anything edible and the three brothers messing about with their cousins and siblings, so she went along with the older woman and followed her to a small secluded spot in the house where they were staying where they wouldn't be overheard and no one would disturb them.

"Is something wrong?" asked Jenny nervously when she noticed the slight frown on her host's face. "If it's something one of the others did, I apologize for their actions..."

"No, no, I just never realized how short you were," replied the woman with a shrug. "You do not look so small when you're on the deck of your ship, ordering the village men around for what repairs need to be made. But now standing next to you...not that it matters, looks have little to do in relationships."

"I feel small, believe me," replied Jenny, feeling slightly confused. "What was it you wanted to speak to me about, though?"

"Oh, yes. I was wondering how you feel about the eldest son of mine, Tanner..."

"Tanner?" Jenny gave the woman a blank look.

"Yes, he is the closest to your age after all." The woman patted Jenny's hand affectionately. "I know he's a bit tall, dear, but he's very handsome you must admit and a very hard worker. He would make some woman very happy someday, a very good match for any prosperous woman..."

Jenny felt the blood rush to her face in embarrassment as she realized what the woman was suggesting. "Oh! Uh...well, I'm very sorry, Mistress Yejan, your son is very nice and handsome, as you said, but I could never marry him..."

"Many a marriage have started as business transactions and ended in deep affection," the woman reminded her quickly. She paused, then continued, "Unless you are already spoken for...?"

"Yes! That' it, I am," replied Jenny quickly. "I'm really sorry, but it is an agreement that I can't break..."

"Is it one that your parents set you up with before you left your village?" drilled Mistress Yejan quickly. "For if it is I will speak with them and see about getting it changed if you like my son better..."

"No, he's one I chose for myself," replied Jenny carefully. "His name is Sean and I met him on my travels."

"Then you plan to return to him someday?" asked Mistress Yejan regretfully.

"I do." Jenny added mentally, {At least I wish to...}

"Well, then, I suppose it cannot be helped." She sighed and shrugged, leading Jenny back to the rest of the group and going back to whatever it was that she had been doing before.

"Jenny," said Tanner nervously as he slipped up beside her. "She didn't just try and sell me off like a piece of property to you, did she??"

"Don't worry about it, I set her straight," replied Jenny with a teasing wink. "You're still as free as you ever were."

"Shurri defend me, I'd hoped you would..." He gave her a grateful smile before heading back to his group of friends, one of the young woman attaching herself affectionately to her side. 

Jenny just chuckled to herself as she went off to find Gwen or Jack to talk to. Being proposed to by a mother for her son without him knowing wasn't something that happened to you everyday!

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Olivia, Bryanna, and Randy sat together at the tavern on their way to the next teacher, just north of Summersea where Randy very desperately wanted to go. "Oh, come on you guys...please?? Just to hand in our seals and we'll go out again, I swear..."

"We would be there right now if it weren't for you and your medallions," replied Bryanna with a shrug.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" snapped Randy with a hint of anger. 

"Not until you admit I was right."

"I won't."

"Then I'll never let it go."

"Mind your manners, Briar," said a tall, older man who was dressed nicer than most other there as he sat across from his well-scrubbed but rather ornery companion who was a boy no more than ten years of age.

"Huh, never had t'use no forks er nuthin' in th'streets," muttered the boy under his breath. "Hands do jus'as good."

"You'll eat with the forks and knives or nothing at all," replied the older man as cheerfully as ever, giving the boy a penetrating look. Shrugging his shoulders in defeat, the boy picked up the knife and fork and began to eat the dinner set before him as neatly as possible. 

"Master Nikolaren, is that you?" asked Randy suddenly. 

"Yes, that's me," replied the older man as he glanced up, looking at Randy in surprise. "Have I...oh, I remember you. You were Winding Circle once, weren't you?"

"Aye, looking for some research in the library as well as some new spells," replied Randy with a nod. "You helped with illusions one afternoon..."

"That's right! You should be nearly finished with your Journeyman schoolings, I should hope," replied Niko as he gave both Bryanna and Olivia courteous nods. "Which means you'll have to finish your paper on magical theorems. Have you decided where you're going to do it at?"

"Winding Circle, if they'll let us, sir," replied Randy quickly with a triumphant look on his face. Both girls looked up quickly with quizzical gazes. 

"Oh, I can get you approved for that so you don't have to go back and bother your supervisor, which will probably make him or her all the happier," replied Niko with a shrug. "I'm actually headed there myself with this young one..."

"He looks more like a gutter rat than a novice to me," said Olivia out of the blue, staring down the young boy as he dared to glare at her. "Watch it, kid, or I might turn you into an icicle."

The boy's eyes widened slightly. "She used street talk!"

"That she did." Niko nudged the young boy with his toe. "Go back to eating, Briar, before your good gets cold. As for you three, I assume you'll be joining us, then?"

"Certainly," replied Randy before either of his two companions could speak. "Thank you, Master Nikolaren." He looked over and saw the other two had finished their meals and wished to head upstairs. "And if you'll excuse us..."

"Of course."

Olivia stood up and grabbed Randy by the ear, dragging him up the stairs with Bryanna trailing close behind ignoring the strange looks they were getting.

"What was that for?!" demanded Bryanna after she'd shut the door behind her. "We had an agreement, Randy..."

"It's just a slight detour, and we already know that our teacher is stopping through at Winding Circle on his way back home from visiting his relatives in the north so we'll be killing two birds with one stone and can observe him without looking suspicious," replied Randy with a cocky grin. "I'm good, right?"

"You're an idiot is what you are," snorted Bryanna in reply.

"It works," admitted Olivia with a slight shrug. "But next time ask before you do something like that!" She glanced over at him, the glint in her eyes suggesting that he was getting off very easy this time.

"Yes, ma'am!"

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Kristen calmly walked the length of the first beam that was solid with only her safety rope, then untied herself and moved to the next beam and retied herself before completing it as well, carefully stepping over the gaps without ever breaking stride (it had taken her a week to feel comfortable with that one) before she reached the side she'd started on, untied herself, and crossed her arms, facing Jon.

"Is that good enough?" she asked lightly, though her hands shook ever so slightly from the strain of stuffing her fear down inside herself and forcing it to remain there even now.

"You've gotten better," he admitted with a shrug. "But you still can't do this...." He jogged off the platform and onto the main beam, following it to the other side and then hoping over one without ever touching the platform and jogging the length of that one too, hopping over the gaps like it was child's play and coming to land beside her after the final leap with a grin. "Wanna try it?"

"Without my safety rope?" snorted Kristen. "Not a chance."

"You're going to have to eventually to pass the course," Jon reminded her with an evil grin. "That's one of the requirements, to be able to run the whole thing without falling and without wearing a safety rope."

"How do you ensure that your students don't die, then?!" demanded Kristen. "We can't afford this time's version of a lawsuit, you know..."

"They all signed a release for before they entered my class," retorted Jon. "Besides, I have a safety net that goes from one side to the other of rope like the acrobats use for when they do it. It won't be a very comfortable landing, but it'll be far nicer that the padding they'd get if they hit the floor."

Kristen winced at the mental picture that brought, "Mother of pearl..."

"I'm putting a limit on this, too," he added suddenly. "You've got a year to be able to complete it. Personally, I don't think you'll ever manage it, but who knows...maybe you'll surprise me." His voice held a sarcastic note, betraying his true thoughts that she hadn't a chance in the world.

"Well thank you for that vote of confidence," replied Kristen sardonically. "If you'll excuse me, I have a class to teach..." She climbed down the ladder and walked to the room next door with frown, forcing it off her face as she greeted the few that were there with her usual wry grin and instructing them to begin their warm ups. She really wanted to prove him wrong just because the look on his face would be so satisfying when she did...but then again she wasn't sure that she could.

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Alyse and Landon sat across from Revlis at a table in a tavern, the later two sipping their small ales slowly while the aforementioned mage carefully scanned the city with her mage-sight for anything that even smelled like unmagic. 

They'd arrived the previous day with every intention of locating and ridding the city of any unmagic they found with in it's boarders as quickly as possible. So far, they'd gone through The Mire, the East District, and were in the Copper Triangle at the moment. Nothing yet had turned up, to their relief. It made their job far easier just to scan and move on when nothing turned up for there was almost no chance of blood shed.

"Find anything?" murmured Landon as he noticed Alyse 'wake up' from her 'nap' as they'd told the waitress who'd asked about her condition, half-laying on the table like a dead body. 

"Nothing of use to us," she replied as she rubbed her eyes slowly. "Hmm...I heard something about a nap...?"

Revlis chuckled. "That's just the fib I fed the waitress so she'd leave us alone," replied the cat girl lightly. "How long do you think you'll need before you can move on? It's about noon, and we could get through the next district too if we hurry..."

"However long it takes you to get me some bread and ale," replied Alyse as she shook her head to rid herself of her ringing ears. "I'm not tired, just a little depleted is all..."

"Will do. Wench!"

"You weren't expecting to find anything down here, were you?" asked Landon in a low voice as he slid his ale over so she could wet her dry throat. 

"Unmagic is something only the wealthy can by," replied Alyse softly. "And it goes after the healthy more often than it does the sick. The Mire, Easter District, and Copper Triangle are the three poorest sections of town besides the fishing village. Few unmagic mages are free to themselves, and their masters will all be wealthy folks or ones who live in remote places where they're least likely to be detected. If we find one in Summersea at all, I will be surprised."

"Did ye feel dat tremor yesterdy?" asked one of the men seated nearby of his companion.

"Yar, nearly spooked me herd to death...h'ain't had a good quake in years..."

"Wench," asked Alyse when the girl brought them the bread and ale Revlis had called for. "How many quakes have there been recently?"

"Naught but a few," replied the young one shyly. "An' they be hardly more than a treble, mistress."

"I see, thank you."

"Yes, mistress. Be ye needing anything else?"

"No, thank you."

"Something wrong?" asked Landon as he noticed her slight frown as she tore the rough bread into bits and began to chew it thoughtfully. 

"I told you I read the books about this place, right?" she asked in a low voice so only he could hear.

"Yeah, what about them?"

"I think I know where we are in them."

"...is that bad or good?"

Alyse paused with another bite halfway to her mouth, considering his words carefully as she compared what she knew to how it could affect them. "Neither."

"That makes absolutely no sense, you know that?"

"What are you two whispering about?" asked Revlis curiously. "Secrets, secrets are not fun unless they are for everyone!

"I'll explain it later," replied Alyse as she finished the bread and drank down the last of the ale, standing and handing a few coins to the barmaid who appeared at her side out of nowhere. "Let's go, we have work to do."

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And that, my dearest readers, is chapter 13. And up sooner than anyone expected, either! ^_^ Just incase I haven't mentioned it before, there WILL BE SPOILERS in the next few chapters for the four Circle of Magic books. In other words, unless you don't feel like reading them and will get a pretty close rundown of what happens regardless, read on! If you want to wait until you read them, don't go past this chapter until you do! You have been warned, so you can't blame me if you forget. : P

There is one thing that I definitely have been lax on, and I feel kind of bad about it. So here it goes.

_Happy Birthday to You!!_

_Happy Birthday to You!!_

_Happy Birthday dear Cheeks, Ben, Rupal, Gwen, Cam, Chris, and Alyse!!_

_Happy Birthday to YOU!!!_

That's right, since the start of this story or very close to it Cheeks, Ben, Rupal, Gwen, Cam, Chris, and Alyse have all had birthdays and I'm fairly sure I forgot to mention them, so here they are now!! This chapter is dedicated to YOU, lucky 13!! : P If I missed yours, sorry, chances are I didn't know when it was or if I got it wrong and your birthday isn't for another six months, well, consider it a really early birthday gift.

Please review and wish them all happy belated (or really early) birthday!! ^_^

~Crosseyedbutterly~

'Best friends are the ones who smile when you're happy, hug you when you're sad, and smack you when you're being stupid.'


	14. 

Doo de doo de doo....hm... *looks around and notices audience* Oh! You're here early. ^_^ 'Spose you want your chapter, right? Here it is! *pulls out manuscript* And there it goes.. *burns it with lighter randomly pulled from pocket* You see, this is what happens when authors write at midnight before Monday morning just so they can please their audience. : P Luckily, I have an extra... *pulls out of pocket and hands to audience* There you go! Have fun!

Thanks to those who reviewed, I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

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Bryanna bit her lip as she tried to read the book in front of her, still feeling jumpy for some reason as she glanced about the peaceful temple. Master Nikolaren had, as promised, gotten them entrance to the temple as well as a dorm room to stay in while they were there and finishing their papers on magic theorems. He had also requested to see their papers before they left, saying he was going to be gone for a while but he'd be back long before they finished the Master's graduate requirement. She was so edgy though, feeling like they should leave now before something happened...this was all Randy's fault! They would be long gone and have checked on the next teacher by now if not for him, and she didn't care what he said about 'killing two birds with one stone', even after the mage came and left they'd still be stuck hear struggling through the paper when they should be out checking on the rest of the mages on their list. 

"Excuse me," said a quiet voice as a presence appeared at her side suddenly, Bryanna jumpy slightly at the sound of it. She turned and saw and older, but kindly woman standing there with a peace that seemed to radiate from her placid face. "You are Bryanna, correct? The Journeyman Healer Mage who is hear to write a paper, if Niko told me right..."

"Yes, that's me," replied Bryanna as she turned to face the woman who sat next to her in the library carefully. "Can I help you...?"

"More would be the question if I can help you," replied the dedicate, for her colored robes denoted her as that, though Bryanna hadn't yet met a dedicate as worldly, nor as self-assured at this one. "I sensed you were disturbed...is there something troubling you, young one? We have the people to help you here, and the ability to act be it a problem you have with yourself or someone else..."

"Ah...why do you say that I'm disturbed?" asked Bryanna as she tried to work her way around the question rather than face it head on. "I can assure you I'm mentally stable if that's what you're getting at."

The woman chuckled kindly. "It's my job to know, miss," she replied steadily. "I am Dedicate Superior Moonstream of Winding Circle Temple, and every Superior must do their best to assure that all occupants of his or her temple are taken care of, safe, and most importantly, content at worst and happy at best."

"Oh!! I...uh..." Bryanna shoved back her chair and tried to rise to her feet to bow properly, Moonstream waving her back in her seat with a shake of her head. "My apologies, Superior Dedicate," stumbled on the healer with a blush. "I...didn't realize who you were, as we've never formally met..."

"I do not expect every student who visits these buildings to know who I am by sight, or even to recognize my name," replied Moonstream with slight nod. "That would be asking too much and placing far too much weight on my own importance. Each Superior is well-known within their own grounds, past that they are not different than any other man or woman who traverses these lands." She nodded again to herself, as if confirming all the more to herself, before she went on. "Now, back to my earlier question...is there something you need help with, Healer Bryanna? I know you know what I am referring to, and you don't have to tell me if you don't wish to, but if you ever need someone to talk to I am here and willing to listen."

"It's just the stress of trying for our Masters, and becoming fully credentialed mages," replied Bryanna with a slight, forced smile. "That and this paper we have to write...it is hard to concentrate through it all, that's it."

"I understand that." Moonstream dipped her head knowingly, rising with an ethereal grace. "Well, then, if you're sure that's all it is..."

"I'm sure," replied Bryanna firmly, trying to put as much conviction behind her words as she could.

"Then I will leave you to your studying, and suggest that if you find yourself...stuck then to check over in that corner of books on mage's papers from the past and compare yours to theirs," said Moonstream as she bowed slightly, Bryanna rising quickly and bowing more formally in return as the Dedicate Superior wandered off through the rows of books and back to whatever it was they'd been doing before.

Bryanna sighed, and then placed a tighter clamp on her emotions inside. It would not do to have someone else feel her unease and start bringing up more questions about her and her two companions, not at all.

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Ben tottered under the load he bore, adjusting the bar that lay across his shoulders as best he could without spilling the water that filled the buckets to the brim on either side. Taking step after step, he focused on the tile pattern on the floor so as to forget the ache of his shoulders and the leaden numbness of his arms.

Rounding a corner, he kept his head down and was surprised to find himself hit something rather solid and topple backwards, nearly making him fall as well as he stumbled back a few steps, only spilling a bit of water as he righted himself. Looking up he saw the Master's son lying there on the floor looking rather stunned, groaning as he sat up slowly.

"Ugh...gotta watch where I'm going..."

"I'm sorry!!" apologized Ben immediately as he set the water down and helped the young boy to his feet, dusting off his jacket and straightening his shirt like he'd seen the other servants do as quickly as he could. "See? No harm done! I was just doing my job and didn't see you there sir..."

"You can quit babbling like on of those mindless idiots who fawn over my father now," replied the boy as he brushed Ben's hands away, fixing his clothes himself, though grudgingly so as he hated to wear them. Ben shrugged and went back to his buckets, surprised when he felt a hand grab his sleeve and hold him in place

"Say, you look to be about my age," said the son amiably. "And I know I've seen you somewhere around here before, though I'm still fairly sure you're new around here. Do you want to come and play with me?"

"Play?" Ben gave him a strange look as he slid back towards his buckets with the bar. "My apologies, sir, but I have work to do. There's no time to play in a servant's life until the chores are done and the Master's in bed." He coughed and added quickly, "No disrespect meant, sir."

"None taken. Why's that?" asked the son curiously.

"Because that's the only time you're guaranteed that whatever it is you're doing won't be interrupted," replied Ben, immediately regretting it as he slapped his hand over his mouth. "Oh! I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean any disrespect towards you or your father..."

"No, that's alright. It's probably very true, too," said the son with a laugh. "You're funny, though. Come on, I've got some neat stuff Father just bought me and no one to talk to...I could order the rest of the servants to take care of your jobs if you want. It could be a like a holiday for you."

"Thank you, sir, but I couldn't. Servants don't get holiday's." Ben picked up the bar with the water buckets and gave the son a grin and a slight nod. "It wouldn't be fair after all. And I think it's what my sister would want me to do if she were here. It's my duty to the Master, after all."

"You don't act like the rest of the servants do," observed the young man as he studied Ben quizzically. "What's your name, boy?"

"...Ben," replied the performer-turned-servant hesitantly. "Now please, sir, cook is waiting for her water..."

"Go on, then, maybe I'll get to see you again later." The boy disappeared down the way Ben had come from as Ben turned and continued on his way. Nobles, he thought as he shuffled along. There was just some things those rich folk would never understand.

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Brenna frowned as she surveyed what there was of her crop. Three weeks had passed since the seed had gone into the ground, and only half the plants had come up since then. Half of the half that had come up where half the height they were supposed to be, and the half of the half that were the right size had large, black spots on them that Brenna couldn't identify for the life of here. They looked like rotting spots, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with them other than the fact that they were discolored. In fact, other than being discolored, for now they seemed to be relatively healthy.

"How's things looking?" asked Cheeks as he came out and stood beside her, drenched in sweat from his day-long chore of plowing up the weedy fields with their wooden roots. "I mean, at least something's growing, right?"

"Yeah, part of it's growing," replied Brenna with a shrug. "But these spots...they don't feel right, you know what I mean? We took one in yesterday and cut it up to see what we could find out. Other than being black, it doesn't seem to be harming the plant, but I can't help but feel that something is seriously wrong..."

"It could be connected to the other seeds," offered Cheeks with a shrug. "I mean, didn't half the ones you and Jem got ready and sorted out turn to black dust when you opened the packages for the first time this spring? It could have been a disease they caught late last year and didn't effect them all the way until they started to grow."

"Yeah, that's what I thought but when I got out the garden seeds that I sorted by myself none of them were shriveled or turned to black dust," replied Brenna in a frustrated manner. "They were given the same compost, the same water, the same sun, the same weeding...if one set of plants caught something, the other ones should've too."

"Maybe it only affects wheat," suggested Cheeks, which is what their current crop was of.

"Those weeds had the same black spots though," she sighed in return. "I don't know...I just hope we have enough healthy stuff to where we can get by another winter in relative comfort and figure out what it was that happened next time around.

Cheeks glanced at her in surprise. "Next time around?? We're going to be here that long?!"

"Cheeks, I was Tortall over five years," replied Brenna with a slow grin. "And if that has any bearing on how long we'll be here this time, then we're going to be here another four years at least before you see North Carolina again."

"I think I'm going to kill myself...please excuse me while I go bash my head into a wall for the next hour..."

"Oh, poor Cheeks..."

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Alyse and Landon sat across from each other by the campfire, one fixing dinner while their partner checked the premises and the other did a scan of the surrounding area. "Feel anything at all?" prodded Landon as he pulled the pot from over the fire, checking it's contents before placing it on again. "You've got time before we'll have any food ready to eat, I'm just asking..."

"I....well...hang on..." Alyse pulled herself into a full trance, tracing a faint pulse she felt far south of them. Coming upon it in her magical self, she confirmed the location and pushed herself back into her body, coming awake to find a curious Landon and Revlis staring at her with half-finished bowls of stew in their hands.

"Sorry we didn't wait for you," said Landon as he dipped her a bowl and handed it to her with a spoon. "But you, uh, tranced longer than you thought you were going to be."

Alyse looked at the sun and was surprised to find it had long since gone below the edge of the horizon. "Oh wow...I guess I did...sorry..."

"S'ok, what did you find?"

"Unmagic."

"Duh," said Revlis as she rolled her eyes. "What kind of unmagic? Where was it? How much was there??"

"Only a very small amount, though I got the feeling from it that while it wasn't completely inert, it wasn't active either. Sort of like a very slowly growing plant...it's south of Summersea, which means we'll have to follow the shore to get to it the fastest." Alyse chewed on a particularly tough piece of beef thoughtfully. "Hm...this isn't bad. What did you say it was, Landon?"

"Beef stew." Landon drank down the rest of his broth happily.

"Well, yeah, even I can see that. What kind?"

"Oh, some kind my mom made up." He shrugged offhandedly. "It's made with the broth we picked up at the farmer's house, the beef we got the other day, and a few vegetables boiled for awhile. I didn't think it would turn out this good, but I'm glad it did. Now we know something that works."

"I take that as a pointed comment towards my cooking," said Revlis dourly as she finished the rest of her own soup.

"Not our fault that your bread was burnt beyond recognition and the 'pasties' completely inedible," pointed out Alyse around a bite of stew.

"Ouch...you're really not pulling your punches, are you?"

"Nope, not with you."

"I thought girls were supposed to stick together!"

"I'm a young woman and you're part panther, I don't think we exactly qualify as 'girls'."

"I would!" Two sets of annoyed eyes turned on Landon who suddenly became very interested in his soup. "Ok...I'm just gonna sit here and eat quietly...please don't hurt me..."

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Kristen sliced the bread as Jon boiled two separate pots of water on the stove, one for the potatoes and the other for the sauce that would go over them once they were done. Cam came speeding by and set the table, the others slowly coming home or down to the kitchen to do their part of the evening meal. 

Chris got out the extra chairs from the hooks on the wall and put them in their places, expanding the table with a leaf as well so as to make room for them all. There wasn't enough room in the kitchen to keep the table and chairs out like that all the time, and since dinner was the only meal they ate together on a regular basis it made sense only to bring it all out for that one meal a day.

Matt and Mike, in their usual fashion, brought up a small keg of ale from the cellar below and knocked it open, pouring themselves and Jon a drink to have with their evening supper. After doing so they took over turning the spit with the meat in the fireplace, leaving Came to finish setting the table and cleaning up things in general in the kitchen like people's boots that were left randomly by chairs and placing them neatly by the door or sweeping up the floor a bit.

"How's the orders coming?" asked Kristen as Chris finished his job, dragging his chair to sit by the fire with a sigh. 

"Very well, actually, seems most everyone needs new cabinets and stuff, and I'm just the man to do the job!" Chris laughed to himself as he hung up his pouch with its tools on their hook from where he sat. "It'll bring in a nice bit of cash, and we can use that to buy more lumber so I can add that side room that Matt's been bugging me to add..."

"Not a room so much as just a really large closet," explained Matt quickly. "I don't think keeping all of our REAL weapons out in the open is such a good idea with all the kids that run around here on a daily basis. I think we should keep all the life steel on their own racks back here where they're not liable to get to them."

"Seeing as we've only managed to replace half of what we lost in the fire as of yet, I wouldn't worry about that too much until we've gotten the rest," replied Kristen with a shrug. "Though building the roof might cost less than paying for all those weapons, so if you want to do that first go right ahead."

"Cool, I'll get on it when I have time..."

"I'm sure you will."

"Hey," said Jon as he drained the boiling water from one pot to another, using a strain so the potatoes wouldn't go with it. "Anyone know exactly when we're meeting with-"

*RUMBLE* 

"AHH!!" 

Everyone scrambled for something to hold on to as the ground lurched and rolled underneath their feet, the house remaining intact but several things that weren't nailed to the ground falling over and making a mess. Jon cried out as he tripped over his own feet and splashed the boiling water all down his front.

"Holy CRAP!!!"

"Jon!!" Cam grabbed the cold water bucket and poured it down Jon's front, drenching the rest of him quite thoroughly in the honest attempt to cool his burns.

"Jon, are you alright??" asked Matt as he knelt by Jon's side, Cam running for some towels as Kristen's command and Chris digging the medicine chest out of the cabinet.

"I'm in a lot of pain, and very cold and wet..." replied Jon through his clenched jaw. "Ahh...it's been awhile since I burned myself..." Between the three of them they got Jon's shirt off and inspected his burns, a borderline two to three degree that spread from the top of his chest to his bellybutton and over his biceps.

"Nice one," snorted Matt as he pulled out a burn salve in a little clay pot and some clean bandages. "What, you don't have enough manly scars as is?"

"This won't scar," replied Jon with a hiss as Matt began to apply the salve as carefully as he could, Mike bringing Jon a flask of strong ale and Kristen and Cam cleaning up the mess he made with all the water. "It'll just hurt like hell for awhile, is all..."

"Hold still..."

"Well, there goes dinner," sighed Kristen as she cleaned up the last of the potatoes and water. "Come on, Cam, he'll be fine." She surveyed the danger zone the kitchen had become and sighed. "But this place won't be if we don't clean it up. Let's go..."

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Tanner had a mixed look on his face as they put back out to see, their ship completely fixed of any possible damages, restocked with foodstuffs and extra supplies, and with half a new crew. Between he, Trevor, and Jennifer they'd picked young men and women who loved the see as much as he did and would work hard to earn their bread to join their sparse crew. True, it'd be nice to have more hands on the deck and plus them being some of his cousins and friends, but he'd still miss the village and, in some distant parts of his mind, wished he could stay. 

"Cheer up, we will visit again, I promise," said Jenny as she joined him on the upper deck at the helm, giving the order to hoist the sails and prepare to go with the tide as she watched her new extended crew scramble about on the deck below. "Besides, I notice you're wearing a new necklace, and looks to be handmade as well..."

"Oh, ah..." Tanner's dark cheeks turned a ruddy red underneath as he tried to focus instead on his task at hand. "It's just a gift..."

"Your mother told me about them before we left," replied Jennifer with a wink. "Congratulations. When do you plan to marry?"

"When I can get a ship of my own."

"Good luck, then, that might take you awhile."

"Oh, I know..."

"Who's the lucky girl?"

"Now that I can't tell you..."

"Ahh..."

"Cap'n Jen!" called one of the crew members as the sails were secured and billowed with the breeze. "We're ready to go, ma'am!"

"Set her for North-northeast!" ordered Jenny as she watched them with a satisfied smile. Being in command had a certain...appeal to it that she'd never really felt before. She wasn't a power hunger short person at all, she just liked being in charge, that was all!

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Bryanna and Olivia sat across from each other in Gorse's kitchen, the huge dedicate having taken them and Randy under his wings as 'poor, underfed students' and stuffed them full of his delicious treats whenever they would left him.

"I have decided Dedicate Gorse is the kindest man here," stated Bryanna as she started into another honey and cinnamon scone. "Mmm...it practically melts in your mouth..."

"Stop it, you're making me drool and I'm sitting hear eating one!" replied Olivia with a slight grin. "I'll give you this much, that man can cook...far better than any of us three can, you know!"

"That's why we're here eating, and not trying to make our own meals in one of the side kitchens."

"No, that's because we're too lazy too. Even if his cooking was the same as ours we'd be here instead of there, and you know I'm right too."

"Ok, yeah, you've got me there..."

"Evening, my friends," said Gorse as he sat down at the head of the table beside them with a sigh, his robe so stained and burned from his work in the kitchens that they could not tell what color it had originally been. "You've enjoyed your treats, I see..."

"They were very good, sir, thank you," replied Bryanna with her cutest smile.

Gorse just chuckled. "Oh, young lady, those are just trifles that I created to comfort those who cannot bake like I can."

"Believe me, they're very comforting," said Olivia immediately. "So comforting that I might have to request a few more..."

"Now, don't get greedy, miss..."

"I'm not," replied Olivia indignantly. "I'm storing up for when we leave again and I won't be able to have them for several months. You know, to tide me over while I wait to stop here again."

"You make a very convincing argument," said Gorse with a teasing glint in his eyes. "But I'm afraid we're all out of those and only have some apple and berry tarts left..."

"Those'll do just fine."

"Then you finish the scones you have left while I get you the tarts."

"We're going to be as fat as cows by the time we leave," sighed Bryanna as she leaned her head on her arm, pleasantly sleepy and sated from the food she'd eaten. 

"Yes, but we'll be very content cows," replied Olivia with a grin as she stretched in her seat. "Very content indeed. If this place had some hot priests to go with the food, I'd sign on with them and never leave..."

"You? A Priestess? Or what do they call it here, a Dedicate? Yeah right," laughed Bryanna teasingly. "Oh lord, I can just see you teaching the novices 'the rules of life'..."

*RRRUUMMBLLLE*

"Hey!!"

"What the-!!!"

"QUAKE!!" came Gorse's voice from the back, several dedicates and novices who'd been going about their tasks sleepily regaining their balance as quickly s they could and running to the back rooms where the ovens where as fast as they could.

""Check the pies!!"

"The cakes are ruined....they all got toppled over!!"

"Someone needs to go check the cellar, the eggs and fruit for breakfast is down there!!"

"We lost a whole rack of ribs, Gorse, the spit broke and dropped it in the flames!!"

"It was only a small tremor, so get things cleaned up and report to me what we lost and what needs to be replaced for the morrow!"

"Yes, sir!"

Gorse came panting out of the kitchen, a frown on his face as his surveyed the minimal damage in the outer room. "My apologies, ladies...looks like plans are changed for tonight!"

"We'll leave," Olivia quickly. "Thank you for everything, though. We have to go find our other companion and make sure he's alive...."

"QUAAAAKE!!!!" Randy came running in, searching frantically until he finally spotted them and came sprinting over, hugging them both wildly before backing off and checking them over, running his mouth at a million miles a minute. "You're alive! Oh, I was so worried, so scared I might be left all alone!! Are you ok? Does this hurt? Did anything fall on you?? Did you fall over and break something? Why aren't you speaking?? Is something wrong? Answer me!!"

Olivia slapped a hand over Randy's mouth, replying quiet calmly, "I'm fine, she's fine, and you're a mess. Come on, let's get you back to your dorm so you can settle down....goodnight, Gorse, and thank you again!"

"Yeah, it was great!" added Bryanna as she took Randy's arm and began to lead him away with Olivia's help.

"Anytime, my dears! Anytime!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Ben sat among the other servants in the kitchen, eating his dinner with those who had served and listening to the Cook's tales of times past when things had been more pleasant that they were now. "Oh, aye, and den dere was da time da time we all got da huge barrel a ale...oh, da Master t'was in a fine mood dat year! T'was a feast for us'n servants, same as for da family. And dere was pies an cakes an candies..."

"We're looking for the young boy, Ben," said one of the older menservants as three of them appeared on the staircase. "The one who plays the flute for the Master's meals every night or so."

A hush fell over the room, even the Cook pausing what she was doing as all eyes turned to the short boy who sat on the bench too tall for him with a crust of bread raised and about to be eaten at that very moment.

"I'm him," he replied nervously, rising quickly to nod respectfully at him.

"You're filthy...but I suppose that can't be helped. Come on, boy, the Master would like to see you up in his rooms," said the servant as he motioned for Ben to follow him up the stairs. "Though what he would want with one as low as you is truly beyond my comprehension and understanding..."

"Enough with your big words, Virgil!" called someone from the back of the room as things began to get a little uneasy. "Either sit and listen to a tale or take the boy and get on about your business!"

"Oh, I'm going, I wouldn't stay down here among this rank and disorderly lot for anything in the world," replied Virgil snootily. "Come on, boy, I haven't got all night."

"Yessir!" Ben scrambled from his seat and trotted after the man, straightening his ragged tunic and trews as best he could. The nice clothes he wore when playing already lay neatly in his room, awaiting the next night's performance. "Sorry, I couldn't finish my dinner, Cook! Tell Nana where I went, though, please?"

"Dat I will."

"Thanks!"

"I said COME ON!!"

"Coming..."

Ben followed silently behind the two tall, strange men who wore a much nicer style of livery than he and the other lower servants had been given. Coming to one of the main halls, they followed it along until finally they stopped before a huge double door at the end of a hall with two guards standing outside of it. 

"The servant boy, as asked for," said Virgil with a bow to the guards there, turning and leaving Ben alone with them before heading on to whatever his next task or plan was.

One of the guards knocked, and it was answered with an assertion to let him in. "In you go," said the guard gruffly, opening the door just enough for Ben to slip by before closing it behind him with a 'thud!' that made Ben jump.

"Ah...there are you boy. I'd begun to think you'd dropped off the face of the earth," said the Baron from where he sat on a low sedan, his son standing right behind him with a satisfied look on his face. "Now, boy, I don't bite. Come here, let me have a look at you." Ben came forward as commanded, stopping a few paces short of the Baron stiffly. "Do you like your life here?" asked the Baron suddenly. "I know it's not the life you're used to, having once been a traveling performer and all, but I did buy you out of slavery and it is only fair for you to repay that debt to me..."

Ben swallowed down the bile that suddenly rose in his throat as he hid the anger that welled up inside. Debt to pay?! Buy him out of SLAVERY?! He was the one that paid the others to come and capture him and his sister...not that he could say that to his face. "Oh...uh...I find it well enough, sir. There's lots of work, and not much free time, but I do alright..."

"Hm...a bit raggedy you certain are, but that can be fixed...your face is very honest, and that's a plus in your favor, as is your obvious respect for authority...very well, son. It shall be ask you asked."

"YES!!"

"Excuse me, sir," said Ben hesitantly. "But...if it's not to much to ask...what're you talking about?"

"My son has wished to have a playmate for the longest of times," explained the Baron steadily. "For, due to extenuating circumstances, I sent all the boys home who were apprenticed here to learn to be a noble outside of their own home and he has been quite alone. However, part of your day will now be devoted to entertaining my son in any form he desires. Your clothes are less than adequate, but the one good pair I gave you for when company comes and you play will not do for this sort of activity so I will have the tailor's cut down some of my son's old things to fit you. How does that sound?"

Ben blinked as he realized what this meant. "You mean...I will, uh, play with the young Master for a part of the day?"

"Yes, lad."

"What part of the day, Sir?"

"For his free period after the noon luncheon. Tell the cook and the other servants that if they dare delay you to this task I have given you, there will be grave consequences indeed."

"Yes, sir."

"Good, you may be dismissed, boy. Report to the library on the morrow after lunch for your playtime."

"...uh, yes sir." Ben gave a jerky bow and walked out of the room, past the guards and down towards his quarters feeling very puzzled indeed. "Now that's not what I was expecting at all..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Cheeks coughed as he came in from the fields, feeling weaker than ever for some reason as he tried to get his breath back. "Ack...oh gosh, I feel like the horses ran over me..."

"You look like it, too," replied Libby as she helped him take the harnesses off the horses and stable them for the night. "Go on in and get something to eat, I'll finish up here."

"Are you -*hackcoughgasp*- sure?"

"Yeah," replied Libby with a crooked smile. "I'm very sure. Go, shoo, get some rest before you hack up a lung."

"Yes ma'am..." Cheeks was still a little wheezy by the time he got to the kitchen, feeling like there was something deep in his lungs that he couldn't get rid of, a presence that wasn't supposed to be there at all. 

"Are you feeling alright, Cheeks?" asked Brenna as she came in from the garden, wiping her hands on her robes before putting a hand on his forehead.

"Well enough..."

"You haven't got a fever, but you still look awful," decided Brenna as she took her hand away and inspected him some more with her head tilted to the side. "You're as pale as a sheet, though...and you sound like a chronic smoker."

"That's what my lungs feel like."

"Do you think you did something to them, like your Junior year?"

"An infection? I hope not, it hurt like heck for a long time..."

Jem came downstairs and went right to Cheek's side, giving him a hug before going into the kitchen to help Kaitlin carry out the dishes for supper. 

"What was that about?"

"I have no idea..."

"Something wrong, Jem?" asked Cheeks when the boy came back out, bearing a platter of greens in both hands.

"No..." replied Jem slowly as he looked away. "I mean...I didn't do nuthin wrong, but...I dunno, I feel bad about you getting sick and still having to work..."

"I'm not sick," replied Cheeks as he took his seat, though the sickly pallor of his face and laboring of his lungs belied otherwise.

"Yes, and I'm Elvis Presley," added Brenna sardonically. "You're going to be early tonight, Cheeks, got that? And you might be staying in bed tomorrow if you're not looking any better, I will NOT have anyone dying because they pushed themselves too hard on this farm, you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you..." Cheeks rolled his eyes as Kaitlin finished bringing things out and sat down, everyone filling their plates as the meal began. Mentally, he added, whether or not I listen to you is another matter entirely...

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Hello there, can we share your table?" asked a tall, wiry man with black-streaked gray hair as Revlis, Alyse, and Landon all finished a leisurely meal at a seaside port just south of Summersea. 

"Of course," replied Alyse as she quickly moved her things back, making room for the man and his young, red-haired companion. "Please, have a seat."

"Thank you. Come on, Trisanna we have awhile to wait before our ride gets here..."

The girl suspiciously eyed all three of them, before slowly and carefully eating the gravy and bread they'd brought with them from the stand not five yards away, all the other tables around them filled with people who'd exited this or that ship or where waiting for one to arrive so they could board.

"Hey, I know you," said Revlis suddenly as she'd been studying the man. "You're that Niko fellow...the one who can see all that is hidden or something like that."

"Nikolaren Goldeneye," corrected the man with a slight grin. "And who are you, miss, that you would know that much about me?"

Revlis shrugged, and grinned toothily back, making a discreet sign with her hands that Alyse noted out of the corner of her eye. Niko nodded slightly, his eyes straying to the symbol on her collar as if to confirm whatever it was that had passed between them. "You come up quite a bit at our councils," she said as if it explained everything, though Alyse was lost as anything. Landon was actually asleep, which is why they were taking such a long lunch, and was oblivious to it all.

"Ah...No offence, but I should hope you are only passing through," said Niko in an offhand manner, though his black eyes held a hint of fear in them.

"Passing through to deal with a very small spot south of here," replied Revlis nonchalantly. "Almost completely inert from what my friends here say..."

"They are Sensors, then?" asked Niko in mild surprise. "You have not had one of those in many years..."

"One is a Sensor," replied Revlis carefully. "The other...well, he bears a much more unique gift..." The young girl listened with hidden interest, obviously as confused as Alyse was though she would probably pester whatever it was that Niko knew out of him later. She knew it was Tris, the Weatherwitch of the four, and she had just been found and would soon be installed at Winding Circle temples for the next four years. That also meant the quake would be soon...they had felt a few small tremors now and then, but nothing drastic as of yet, she'd have to be on the look out from now on. Granted if Tris wasn't at Winding Circle yet, they'd have a few moons to wait until it did happen, but it did not hurt to be prepared.

"You don't say? What kind?"

"He's a Cleanser." Revlis said the word in an offhand manner, but the gleam in her eyes testified to her glee at watching the man's jaw hang open ever so slightly.

"You jest," said Niko carefully, closing his mouth as he put his calm mask back in place.

"I don't," replied Revlis flatly. "I wouldn't about something like that, not when I have to work with them on a daily basis..."

"That is very true..."

"Mommy, I wanna ride the ponies..." Everyone looked over at Landon, who shifted around in his sleep, muttering some other incoherent comments before sitting up suddenly. "I'm awake, I swear! I wasn't sleeping in class....huh?"

"You're not in school," Alyse reminded him quietly as Niko and Revlis smothered laughs in their own way (which consisted of shoving her fist down her throat for Revlis) as Tris just rolled her eyes and yanked at the curls which struggled to free themselves from the myriad of pins that held them in place. "You fell asleep after you ate and Revlis and I thought you might need the nap."

"Well, thanks, it did help, but I'm fine now...*yawn*...really, I am."

"I think that's our cue to leave," commented Revlis as she rose gracefully, helping Alyse gather up their things before heading over to the stables where the horses where being kept. "Good day, Master Nikolaren Goldeneye! I will mention to the council that I spoke with you!"

"And I you," replied Niko with nod, going back to his now-cooled gravy and bread with a hunger that was the only reason he was forcing it down his throat. "Safe travels, good friends!"

"And same to you!"

"What you were talking about needs to be explained," said Alyse roughly as she saddled her horse, checking over everything before she mounted swiftly. "As in the council, what the little hand thingy was and all that."

"Oh, right...I did forget to do that, didn't I?" asked Revlis as she scratched her ear idly. "Oh well, come on, I'll explain it as we go. And it's something like this..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Kristen crept down the ladder to the main floor, stopping by Matt's and Mike's doors just long enough to make sure they were sound asleep (or passed out) before going on and unlocking the door to the walkway that led to the salle. Locking the door after herself, she placed the key back on it's tie around her neck and went on, letting herself into the salle with another key that she took from her pocket. 

Jon hadn't given her a lesson in her 'elimination of fears' course for a week since the quake, he'd been to busy laying still and letting the burns down his chest and arms heal with the poultices the healer they'd hired had given them. The one thing he had done, though, was comment that she'd never get anything done without him up there to guide her so she might as well consider it a lucky break that she'd be off until he was healed. As far as his other classes went, she , Mike, and Matt had split up teaching them in turn. 

Teaching classes while he healed didn't bother her, but knowing that he still considered her to be on the same level as his lower students, who couldn't run the course without strict supervision, really ticked her off. So, she was determined to prove him wrong. She'd been up to only a safety line and no harness by the time he'd been burned, she was fairly sure she could walk across the straight beam without a problem and no line! That's show him...she'd fully pass his course in no time!

Never saying a word, she slowly climbed the ladder and hoisted herself onto the platform with the greatest care possible. Taking a few deep breaths, she dared to glance over the edge of the platform and felt herself freeze slightly before shaking it off determinedly. She WOULD do this, and would do it NOW.

Holding her arms out on either side, she slowly began the process of walking across without a rope or the net stretched out underneath, putting one foot in front of the other while focusing her eyes on the opposite wall and concentrating on keeping herself in motion, no matter how slow that motion might be. 

Zoning out for a moment, she suddenly realized she was on the other platform and not on the middle of nowhere, the fist that had clenched itself around her racing heart releasing itself in relief. She'd done it! It wasn't so hard, once you ignored the fact that there was several feet off empty space below and on either side of you. Turning around, she sighed as she looked at the next part of the course, the one with the small gaps every few yards. She needed to pass this one, too, if she was going to make any sort of an impression that she was learning to cope with her...insecurities quicker than they thought was possible.

Taking a deep breath to steady her frazzled nerves, she began to go across the next one, keeping her eyes focused between the beam and the wall on the other side so she could see the gaps without actually having to look down at the empty space itself. She had just reached the second gap, having shakily made her way over the first, when she heard a rumble in the distance. Feeling her heart stop, the ground suddenly lurched and took the building with it, sending the young hand to hand expert toppling off the beam. 

Grabbing for the nearest rope that hung in between the beams for one of Jon's other 'exercises', she tried to brace herself on that when she felt it come loose, sending her plummeting to the ground below head first...

_'She's here,' said a fuzzy voice, Kristen blinking as she stared up into a bright light. 'And now you have to finish your task, Little Brother...'_

_'Yes ma'am...'_

_Kristen sat up, seeing everything around her bathed in a pale, green light. She was still in the salle, though it had an ethereal look like this. Standing, she looked down on herself and saw she glowed with the same light, though the one coming from her was far more intense than the ones coming from her surroundings. _

_'What in the world...??'_

_'Over here!' called a voice, directing her attention to where two people stood side by side just a few feet away, both dressed richly in ornate robes that hung from them loosely. One, the young boy, she was sure she'd seen somewhere before and the woman beside him had a familiar feel to her, though she was sure she'd never met her. 'We met once before,' went on the boy nervously. 'Though you won't remember it, I sort of messed with your memories in that way...'_

_'Wait, hold on a minute,' said Kristen as she shook her head, rubbing her aching temples slowly. 'First off, where am I and how did I get here?!'_

_'You're on the in between planes,' replied the woman. 'We brought you here on a matter of...renegotiation as well as your life.'_

_'That makes little to no sense, but sure,' replied Kristen, rolling her eyes. 'I'm assuming part of it has to do with the fact that I fell from the beam, right?'_

_'Right,' replied the boy quickly. 'You're not dead at the moment just sort of...suspended between the two, ok?'_

_'Alright...so what is it you wanted to speak with me about?'_

_'My brother here, Devan, wasn't very fair with you earlier,' explained the woman with a slightly annoyed glance at her brother. 'Your fighting skills, which were a part of the agreement, where already imparted to you automatically, so he never should have used them as a bargaining tool. Here's what we need from you, though. You know a great deal about this world, correct?'_

_'Yeah, I do. What about it?'_

_'We need to lay a coercion of sorts on you that will allow you to remember it with your mind and affect what happens with your own actions, but never ever speak of the future to another besides those from your own world,' said the lady with the greatest solemnity possible. 'The spell is actually already in place, upon you and all your friends so they will not take advantage of that which you tell them. And you did give your consent to it willingly, but my dearest brother bent the rules ever so slightly and didn't give you your true deal. Granted he was dealing with an emergency at the time, but we shall mend that now.'_

_'Ok...' Kristen blinked, then shrugged. 'I don't know what I want, to be honest. I'm assuming that in this negotiation, I ask for something, you grant it, the spell stays put and all is well, right?'_

_'Correct.'_

_'Well...I don't know what to ask for, then.' She held up her hands palm up and sighed. 'There's nothing I really want with looks, I'm already taller, I think, than I was back home. Besides, I never really cared what I looked like, anyways. Magic is cool and all, but I don't think I could take being a mage on top of all the other stuff that happens around here. I'm assuming I could ask to be sent to another 'group' as Jon described them, but I have a feeling you wouldn't give a choice which one and while the guys do get on my nerves occasionally, I think I'd rather be with them than total strangers that you could randomly plop me down with. Besides, I kind of like it here and want to see how this all plays out. So you see, I'm kind of at a loss for what to ask for.'_

_The lady frowned, then smiled as she held out her hand and in it materialized a pole arm, one Kristen had seen before but only in the form of a picture Amanda had drawn in school one day. The shaft was just about five and half feet long, polished so it gleamed in the green glow of the room. One end was capped to protect it from wear and tear, the other held a blade unlike none she'd seen in real life before. Two separate halves extended from a foot onto the shaft to another foot beyond the pole itself. Three inches or so of space separated the two where it wasn't connected to the pole arm, and where it was bolts held it securely to the pole itself. Razor sharp from it's two pointed tips to the base where it melded into the pole, it was thin and light as it could be with the center sections cut out in the shape of the blade itself. Leather handle grips with studs completed it all, giving it a fantasy feel. _

_Kristen's jaw dropped. 'Mother of pearl...it's exactly like it...' She took from the lady's extended hand and tried it out, finding the balance to be perfect and the grips melding to her hands like they were made for them. _

_'Do we have a deal?' asked the boy as Kristen reverently checked every aspect of the weapon and found it to be lacking in nothing. _

_'Oh yeah,' replied Kristen as she held it to her chest. '...can I go back now?'_

_'Yes, though I have no doubt we shall meet again soon,' replied the boy with a shrug and a grin, all of it slowly fading from Kristen's view in a sudden wash of light followed by a darkness that swallowed her whole..._

"Kristen...?" The young woman woke to see Chris standing over her with worry etched on his face, shaking her shoulder gently. "What are you doing out here, Kristen?! It's well after when you normally get up, and no one's seen you all morning..."

"Sorry," said Kristen around a yawn as she stood up, looking down at her hands with a smile as she found the weapon still there in her grip. "I had something else to take care of..."

Chris whistled as he took it from her, testing the wood and finding it completely sound, yet light and easily held at the same time. "Nice piece a work you got here...where'd you get it from?? It must've cost a fortune that I know we don't have..."

"It was given to me," replied Kristen with a smug grin. "In exchange for a promise, is all."

"You didn't sell your soul or something like that, did you?"

"Christopher!"

"Sorry, sorry...I was just teasing, I swear!"

"Sure you where..." Kristen glared at him as she took the weapon back and went back to her side of the salle, putting it on one of her personal racks there. "Come on, I'm hungry for some breakfast, how about you?"

"Huh? Oh, sure..." Chris followed with a shrug, still kind of confused but opting to deal with that later and sate his grumbling stomach first. If he forgot to bug her about it later, well, then it must not' have been as important as he thought it was.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Jack lay on the deck of the ship on some coils of rope, he finally had some off-duty time now that they had the new crew, and as First mate, he usually just delegated the tasks that had been given to him to others who weren't busy at the time. Feeling the sun soak into his bones, he sighed and began to daydream about the girl he'd left back home. It's been so long since he'd last seen her, and while he'd seen a great many lovely girls since he'd come here there was yet to be one just quite like her.

She had eyes that were as dark as her skin, that laughed and teased him with looks alone when they were together. Her face was perfect, her skin just a shade darker than his own and her lips...he shivered as one particular memory flashed across his mind. Her smile was like that of an angel's, and he could spend hours studying her fine features alone. But it wasn't just her face that was perfect, her body alone...

Jack's thoughts continued along this line as time passed, him drifting into a pleasant dream where he was with her again someplace away from the rest of their friends. 

"Hm...so nice...missed you baby..."

One of the dogs that had joined the crew with their masters came trotted up right about then, listening to Jack with his head cocked to the side before starting to sniff Jack's neck with his wet, wuffling nose. 

"Careful....tickles..." murmured Jack as he shifted around in his sleep. The dog snorted slightly and began to lick Jack's face, covering it in doggy slobber in about two seconds.

"Wha...bleh!!" Jack woke up suddenly, putting up his hands to protect his face as he tried to scramble to his feet. "Stop it!! Dumb dog, get off a me!!"

"Down, Hashu!!" called one of the crew members between laughs as most of those on the deck took part of the merriment at Jack's expense. 

"Crazy mutt," grumbled Jack as the dog left him alone and went back to his master, wiping off his face on his sleeves before attempting to straighten his rather disheveled clothes. He glared at Nicole, who muffled her own chuckles with her hand. "What're you laughing at?!"

"The idiot before me who fell asleep on the deck like a moron," replied Nicole promptly, flying out of Jack's reach. "Your own fault, you know!"

"Go get eaten by a fish, mini-brat!" yelled Jack as he stomped off for his cabin, everyone else quickly getting out of his way.

Nicole just laughed all the more. "No, thanks!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Olivia sat with her back to the cliffs that ran along the edge of the sea, using the cold of the sea she found there to cool just the air and ground around her, attempting to find a way to keep from baking in the summer heat without actually taking any clothes off or getting herself wet. The temple people frowned upon the first one, and the second was such a nuisance when she went to head back inside everything stuck to her like glue until she was able to peal it off for fresh clothes, which in turn just made her hot again. A thin layer of frost formed on the rocks and grasses around her, which all felt wonderfully cool to her overheated body.

"Mind if I join you?" asked Bryanna as she came around the bend of the cliff, a basket under one arm and a book the other. 

"Only if that's some of Gorse's treats that you've got with you," replied Olivia with a grin. Bryanna just grinned in return, handing the basket over and sitting down to bask in the cool with her back resting against the cliff as Olivia's was. Opening the basket, Olivia pulled out a flask of some sort of juice and a few chilled, crystallized berries.

"Oh, this feels so good..."

"You've paid the tithe, you may stay," said Olivia jokingly. "Oh, being an ice mage SO has it's advantages..."

"Though, if you keep burning your power like this you won't have anything left for emergencies," replied Bryanna casually.

"Eh, that's what you're for then," said Olivia lazily as she cooled the juice with a touch of her power and drank it down greedily. "Mmm...only Gorse can take apples and oranges and make it into something heavenly like this."

"Yeah, he sure does have a touch for that..."

"Can I come in??" whined Randy as he shuffled up from another direction, seeing the frost and hurrying his leaden legs up a little bit faster. "Please please please please please please..."

"Shut up, and you can," replied Olivia as she closed her eyes and laid back even more, Randy coming and sprawling flat on his back with his head on her lap. It was too hot even in her cooled ring to argue or even talk, all of them opting to remain as still as possible. Bryanna halfheartedly read her book, Randy dozing off as Olivia watched the fat, skidding clouds above. 

It was the first time they'd been together without arguing or someone insulting someone else since they'd visited the black-robed master, and in a way it felt strangely right. 

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Ben left Nana doing her usual after lunch chores, wearing the new clothes that had been left by his door to go to the library where he would meet the son and, supposedly, 'entertain' him for the next couple of hours. His clothes were similar to those who were in the village, just a simple tunic and trews with sandals that, while they were very well made and of better materials that his usual servant's livery, where still very plain and unadorned.

"Anybody here?" he called as he crept into the silent room, glancing around and seeing no one in sight until...

"BOO!!!"

"AH!!" Ben scrambled back a step as the son just laughed, but not in a mean sort of way.

"Got you there!" he said merrily as he punched Ben playfully on the shoulder.

"Yeah, that you did," replied Ben weakly as he breathed deeply to get his heart rate under control. "What is it you want to do, sir?"

"Don't call me sir," replied the boy, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "That's what the rest of those dithering idiots call me. You're Ben, and that's what I call you. I'm Artor, and that's what you'll call me, ok? I don't care that I'm the master's son and you're just a servant, for right now we're somewhat equals just cuz there's no one else to talk to, ok?"

"Oh, ok...what is it that you want to do then, Artor?"

"Not sure, actually, haven't had much of a chance to think about it. What do you want to do?"

Ben shrugged. "Whatever you want is fine, s-....Artor."

"How does going to the barn sound, then?"

"Um, ok."

Ben followed Artor as the young boy bound out the door and down the halls, forcing the servant boy into a trot to keep up. Going down several flights of stairs, and then taking the servant's entrance to the mansion out to the courtyard, they went up to the barn and then up into the loft high above.

"So...what are we going to do?" asked Ben when they got there, panting lightly. 

"Haven't you ever played in a barn before?" asked Artor curiously.

"No, I haven't," replied Ben with a shrug. "My family...we never had a barn."

"What were you, then?" asked Artor, obviously curious.

"Performers."

"Really?? I bet you've had all sorts of adventures, then..." Artor smiled and went over to the edge where a rope hung from the ceiling tied to some beams. "Come on! I'll show you how to swing across, ok?"

Be nodded as he followed. "Alright!" 

Artor grabbed the rope and backed up a few steps, getting himself a running start before he swung his feet up around the rope and sailed across the few yards gap between the two lofts and landed in a pile of hay on the other side.

"Wheee!! Come on, Ben! It's fun!!"

Ben took the rope and backed up just like he had, running a bit slower and holding on far tighter to the rope. "Here goes nothing....COWABUNGA!!!" He sailed through the air, heart racing as he let go at the last minute and landed next to the young master, rolling a few feet before he came to a stop. "Whoa..."

"Wanna do it again?" asked Artor with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. 

"Yeah!!"

"Let's go!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Libby sighed as she went through and chose those horses and cows they could do without and sell for what little profit they could get. Another harvest was out of the question, the fields they hadn't plowed up were now so rampant with weeds that it would take a year just to clear it off every root and leaf before they could plant again. With the present harvest half dead-half barely alive they'd barely make it through winter without having to look elsewhere for help as it was.

Taking one of the particularly nasty sows who had a reputation for kicking over the bucket but was deceptively docile most of the time for the market, she led the cow out of her stall and out to the yard where she was tied to a post with the other two cows that were to go. A mare and gelding joined them later, leaving four more in the barn with one so sick it could hardly stand and the other three in just slightly better condition.

"Are these it?" asked Rupal as she came out to the yard, dressed in her usual business clothes. 

"Yeah," replied Libby quietly, helping her into the saddle of the mare that she'd ride to market. "Find good homes for them, alright?"

"I will, I promise..." She turned and road out, the cows and horses following her at a sedated pace.

"It'll be alright, Libby," said Brenna as she came up behind her, putting an arm around her friend's shoulders. "We'll buy them back someday, when things get better again. You have one bad year ever five or so in farming they stay, and it's best that we have it now while we can afford it rather than later on when the harvest the year before was not so plentiful."

"I know you're right," replied Libby softly. "I just don't want you to be."

"I can't help you with that, sweetie..."

"I'll be fine, and I have other things I have to work on," replied Libby simply, pulling out of her arms and heading back for the barn. "I'll be in for supper in awhile."

"Ok..." Brenna watched her go, then turned her eyes out on crop, most of which was slowly dying and seemed to be taking her heart with it. Things were not looking good for them, and they all knew it too.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Alyse, Landon, and Revlis all rode into a small town sometime around sunset, quickly locating the nearest Inn and riding into its courtyard without the slightest hesitation. They'd dealt with the small bit of unmagic, finding it to be only some sort of pendant that had been easily destroyed and the taint taken from the unknowing master without any resistance at all. However, they'd immediately found another pool farther south, and had been tracing it for days. 

"Ye be wantin' rooms fer the night?" asked the Innkeeper as he came out to greet them, holding Alyse's horse by the head as she dismounted gracefully.

"For the next three nights, two rooms, if you could," replied Alyse with a curt nod. "How much?"

"Naught but three coppers a night, five if ye want dinner. Brekkist and lunch be a copper each, and ye pay fer them when ye eat," replied the Innkeeper, eyeing them curiously.

"Done." Alyse fished the coins out of her purse, handing the man one and a half silver crescents, which came out to the asked 15 coppers, and led her mount over to the stable where they gave the helper a copper to stable and feed their beasts for the night.

Taking their packs, they followed the round, balding man into the building and were promptly shown two rooms on the ground floor in a hall off the main room. "Here ye be, jest tell me when ye be leavin', and if ye be wantin' a bath or any special services, ye'll have to take up the cost of that with me helpers," said the man as he handed them their keys and then waddled his way back down to the main room to tend to his guests there.

Landon glanced over at Revlis and Alyse in confusion. "Special services? What does he mean by that? Getting our clothes cleaned or something?"

Alyse blushed as Revlis rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Landon, that's exactly what he means..." she said sardonically.

"Oh, ok...in that case, how much do you think it would be to get this stain out of my tunic? I know it's my fault it's there, but still..." He noticed Alyse and Revlis just sort of staring at him. "What? Did I do something wrong??"

"No," replied Alyse with a sigh as she dragged Revlis in to their room to keep her from tearing the poor boy to shreds. "Go get settled in, we'll meet you out there in a second."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"He's so innocent sometimes, it's annoyingly cute," commented Revlis as she dumped her bags on her bed and flopped down beside them. "Hm...a bit lumpy, but it feels clean enough. Though, I might take him up on that offer to get a bath..."

"Tomorrow," offered Alyse with a shrug. "It's a bit late now, and they may not serve dinner after a certain time."

"That's a very good point. Come on, let's go fetch the pup and get on out there for some grub!" Revlis had taken to calling Landon 'pup' as of later because, in her eyes, he was as new and green as puppies still stumbling over their paws and chasing their tails. Finding him waiting for them out in the hallway, they went together to the main room and found a table in the corner as usual, Alyse falling into a trance to sort out where to go next while the other two took care of ordering their drinks and food. 

"What's on the menu for tonight?" asked Alyse when she roused herself again, taking the offered mug of some questionable substance and gulping it down quickly to sate her dry throat. Scanning like that always made her unusually thirsty. "Bleh!! For that matter, what's this stuff supposed to be??"

"He said it was coffee, I'm beginning to wonder myself, though," replied Revlis as she ran her tongue over her fangs lightly. "I think I might take him up on that offer of ale..."

"No, you're not," replied Alyse firmly as she fully cleared her head with another sip of the stuff. "Last time you did that you had a bit too much and began to change into rather large predatorial cats at random, something that got us kicked out of the Inn in quick order."

"Come on, I'll be careful this time..."

"No."

"Party pooper..."

"Did you figure out where we're going from here?" asked Landon as he drank down the water he'd requested himself, and thanking anything as he did from the reactions the others were getting from their drinks. There aren't that many ways to screw up plain, clear well water. "Are we even in the right town, for that matter?"

"Oh, we are," Alyse reassured him with a slight smile. "The spot is near the town, but definitely outside it's borders. I know we were given good reports of the mage that lives openly around here and generally is a help the villages within riding distance, but I'm fairly sure it's his place..."

"You didn't sense any other sort of magic around here?"

"None, other than the usual protection-good health-luck spells that are everywhere."

"Hm..."

Revlis twitched her nose as three plates of some meat, bread, and stew where placed in front of them. "Less talk, more eating," she said as she nodded cordially to the maid who'd brought it to them. "We can figure all that out later....hmm....not bad...."

"Better than the drinks?" asked Alyse under her breath as she poked the meat hesitantly with the fork from her pouch. 

Revlis's ear twitched, and she chuckled lightly. "Much better."

The other two just laughed and cautiously dug in, finding it to be true and all conversation ceased for awhile as they filled their empty bellies to the brim. Life, even for an Unmagic hunter, was good. 

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Cam came jogging into the kitchen, sweat dripping down his face as he took the towel offered by Kristen and drying himself off with it as best he could. "Man, it's hot out there..."

"Where's Chris?" asked Kristen as she glanced down the hall and found the resident wood-worker to be nowhere in sight.

"He's got some sort of a special order that came in today," replied Cam tiredly. "Told me to tell you he won't be back until tonight, or maybe even tomorrow morning."

"Oh...wonder what it is." 

Kristen immediately got a basket and placed in it part of the cold cuts of meat that were for dinner with some bread and cheese. 

"Some sort of a carving, I think," replied Cam with a shrug. "You can't really tell what it looks like right now, but there was a real rich guy who came in just after we opened in a real hurry and he's been only working on that order since then."

"He must've been made a great deal, then, because he wouldn't take orders like that otherwise." Kristen added a flask of fresh water with crushed mint leaves in it.

"I think so, he got a pouch before hand of some coins and then there was another promised when it's picked up tomorrow."

Kristen nodded and held out the basket to the young boy. "You tell him he'd better eat because as big as he is he needs to and he'd better get some sleep too because he has to be coherent tomorrow."

"I will!" Cam took the basket, grabbed a drink from the basin in the corner and took off again, nearly running into Mike and Matt on his way out. "Oops...sorry about that!"

"Watch where you're going next time, squirt!" yelled Mike after him, turning around and grabbing a piece of bread and some of the meat, making himself an impromptu sandwich before they even sat down to eat. "Where's he going in such a hurry?"

"Chris has another big order, so Cam's taking him dinner," replied Kristen quite simply. "Couldn't you even wait for us to sit down, Mike?"

"Nope, couldn't help myself."

"Glutton."

"And proud of it!"

"Mother of pearl..."

"I knew I smelled food," said Jon as he came downstairs, trying to move his arms as little as possible while taking a seat at the table. He wore a loose shirt that you could see his bandages under, part of them already gone with pink, tender skin in place where the healed burns had once been. "Mm....you do alright with dinner, Kristen, when you don't actually have to use the stove."

"Shaddup and eat," snapped Kristen back.

"It would be my pleasure! Pass the bread over here, Matt..."

"Don't hog the meat, man! Leave some for all of us!"

"Can I have the cheese down here?"

"What, so you can take all of it like last time? You can wait until I've gotten what I wanted first."

"There were only two slices left last time, man!"

"I don't care!"

Kristen sighed as she made herself a sandwich real quick and headed for her room with a mug of water. Guys were such pigs sometimes. 

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"What's that?" asked Gwen as one of the new crew members, a young woman named Talia who could bargain a deal like none other, came out of her bunk that she shared with one of the other new female members carrying a cylinder of wood with an animal skin tightly stretched over the top.

"One of our drums," explained the woman with a grin, flashing her strong, white teeth genially.  "Come on, we're going to have ourselves some fun tonight!"

"Hey, I'm fine with that!"

Going up to the deck above, she found several others already gathered there, sharing in the berry pudding their new cook, Tanner's grandmother, had made up for them and playing upon other simple instruments that had been brought with them. 

"Over here, Talia!" she called, the old woman laughing as raucously as the rest as her old fingers worked their way up and down the neck of a three-stringed lute that sounded very much like a base.

"Coming, Ma Tegan," called Talia back, taking her place at the old woman's feet as a few others took to their feet in the middle of the deck and began to dance. One lively tune after another was played, even Jenny allowing herself to be pulled into the rhythmic movements for a few rounds before she begged out on being so exhausted. Tanner and Tyler danced like there was no tomorrow, going through partner after partner, including Gwen and even Talia who allowed herself to be pulled from the musician's group for awhile.

Jenny had accepted one of the wooden flutes and was contributing to the tunes herself when Nicole, who'd been flying in time to the music all night, found Trevor seated on the roof above the main cabin, watching the festivities with an empty plate beside him and a contented grin on his face.

"Trev!!" she called as she landed on his knee, startling him for a moment.

"Huh?! Oh...it's just you. Hullo, Nicole." He laughed at his own surprise, then went on. "Do you need something?"

"Just wondering why you're up here, and not down there," replied Nicole with a shrug. "You're not sick or anything, are you? There's nothing wrong, is there?"

"No, I just don't feel like being in the middle of it all right now," admitted Trevor with a grin and a shrug. "That, and it's really much safer for me up there than it is down there with the rest..."

"How so?"

"Oh...well, I'd get pulled into a dance if I went down there," replied Trevor hesitantly, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"And why's that a bad thing?" asked Nicole curiously. "Come on, I've seen you tie knots in the dark that make Jack dizzy, so I know you're not that clumsy..."

"Oh, I'm not clumsy, exactly..." replied Trevor carefully. "But I am definitely rhythmically challenged..."

"You're kidding right?"

"Nope, watch." Trevor listened to the music for a moment before he started to clap along, following the beat for the first two or three beats before he missed it entirely and couldn't get on it again until he stopped and started all over again. "See? It's practically impossible for me to hold a steady beat or rhythm for more than a few seconds..."

"Now that sucks."

Trevor just laughed as he shrugged again. "You're telling me...it could be worse, though."

"How so?"

"I could be you."

"HEY!!"

*WHOOSH*

*SPLOOSH*

"Man overboard!!!"

Nicole grumbled to herself as she watched them haul a chuckling Trevor back onto the ship. "Could not be worse being me...jerk..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Olivia stuck close to the library, even though she already had her paper complete, and sat with Bryanna and Randy who weren't quite done yet, all three having great difficulty with keeping their minds on the tasks they'd set before themselves. Everyone had woken to the same, strangely-orange sky that morning, and the hair was so hot and close that even the most dedicated of Dedicates had forgone part of their work for the day and gone straight to lying about trying to just keep cool. Midday had come and gone, leaving them to wither in the afternoon heat.

"I can't take much more of this," murmured Bryanna as she lay her aching head on the desk, Randy's green face mirroring her discomfort as Olivia sighed and froze the counter top below them, cooling them all slightly. "Oh gosh...thanks..."

"Yeah, sure..." Olivia stood up and began to pace, restless and edgy as she felt something, she just wasn't sure what, teasing at the back of her mind. Not something she should remember, but something that she definitely felt was going to happen very soon. 

"Sit down, Olivia," sighed Randy tiredly, rubbing a hand across his forehead. "You're just making yourself hotter moving around like that."

"Can't," came the harsh reply. "I feel like...I don't know, there has to be something that I'm not thinking of that I should be doing or something like that right now..."

Bryanna suddenly blanched, shaking like a leaf as she grasped the edge of the table. "Holy cow..."

Olivia whirled around. "Bry!"

The healer was white as a sheet as she looked up, horror etched in her face. "I think...something just happened. I don't know what, but I feel like several lives were just snuffed out at once..."

"Better them then us," said Randy practically.

"That's not all," groaned Bryanna as she laid her head down. "Whatever it is...it's coming!"

"What?!"

"I don't know, I just...it's here!!"

The ground suddenly rumbled below their feet, screams and yells from other parts of the temple reaching their ears as the ground tossed them all like rag dolls and the shelves on either side of them began to fall over in random directions.

"Look out!!" Olivia grabbed them both and pulled them close, forming a think layer of ice between them and the rest of the falling, tumbling books and beams, barely holding it up with what was left of her magic to protect them from the caving roof. Bits of wood and dust continued to fall even after the quake had passed on it's way, leaving them breathless under Olivia's freezing dome. 

"Is everyone alright?" asked Bryanna the moment it was over, finding herself seated on the floor beside Olivia, Randy sprawled over their laps in a dazed manner. 

"Best as can be expected," croaked Olivia, leaning heavily on her for support. "I can feel it through the ice...there's a few beams right over us that'll leave only human-sized spots of grease if we don't get of here before my dome gives out."

"Can you make an opening in it?" asked Randy as he rolled off of them, moving into the only free space there was with his legs folded under him. "We might be able to crawl our way out if we hurry..."

"I think so..." Olivia closed her eyes and sighed, probing with her magic until she found a spot she could open in the ice without bringing the whole thing down on top of them, working slowly as she pushed it back just large enough for each of them to squeeze through one at a time. "There...ah..." She fell back, the two of them catching her between them as she weakly tried to sit up on her own again. 

"Olivia! You ok??"

"I don't think I've ever been this drained before in my life...hang on." She closed her eyes for a moment, then struggled to her knees and followed Randy who went out of the dome first, helping to drag her out with him.

"Ugh! Good lord, you're heavy girl!" *smack* "Ow..." Randy rubbed his jaw as a very annoyed Olivia sat beside him, leaning against a toppled table as Bryanna wriggled her way through after them. "You didn't have to hit me that hard!"

"You also didn't have to comment on my weight," replied Olivia wearily as she gave him a cold glare. 

"Come on," said Bryanna as she put an arm around Olivia's waist and helped her to her feet. "We've got to get out of here..." Looking around, the once two-story library was now reduced to a large maze of rubbed that they'd have to wind their way through before they'd be safe. "This place isn't exactly stable, and I'd rather not be around when the rest of it falls!"

"Alright, up and at 'em, lass!" Randy took Olivia's other side, the three slowly making their way through and around the rubble that lay in their way. "Easy, there, come on, just a step at a time..."

The minutes passed quickly, but they managed to get themselves to a more open area where the roof was still intact just as the voices of others reached them. "In here!!" called Randy as he let go of the pair, trying to figure out where the voices were coming from. "Can you hear me?!!"

"Oh no..."

"Huh?" Randy turned around to see Bryanna turn white again, shaking violently just as the ground beneath them began to shiver. "Bryanna, what's..."

"IT'S COMING AGAIN!!!"

If they thought the last one had been violent, this one was nearly enough to kill them with it's shakings alone. The ground tossed and muttered, sending them to the floor again as they lost their balance and fell, the roof overhead beginning to crumble as they tried to scramble out of the way. The beams tumbled and crashed, blocking off all their exits as Bryanna and Olivia grabbed each other's hands, Bry slamming her healing powers into her companion and forcing it to convert into the magic the ice mage needed...

"Olivia, your ice, NOW-"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Ben slipped into the barn, going up to the loft in his new clothes as he waited for Artor to arrive as always. Normally they met in the courtyard now, playing out at the edge of the woods with a few guards to watch over them or racing down the unused halls of the mansion, throwing up puffs of dust with every step. Today, however, Artor has asked that he meet him here instead and Ben wondered idly what it could be about while lying on his back and chewing lazily on a piece of straw and waiting patiently for the other boy to arrive.

"Ben??"

"Up here, Artor!" he called back with a grin.

"Get down here, lazy! I've got something I want to show you!"

"Coming..." Ben rolled to his feet and jumped from the edge of the loft, grabbing a rope and sliding down it all the way to the ground. "And here!"

"Show off," chuckled Artor as he went along until they got to the horse's stalls, jumping up on the edge of one in particular where two, brand new matched black mares stood side by side. Artor looked at the pair proudly, then asked, "What do you think of them?"

"They're beautiful," admitted Ben with a grin as he held out his hand and one of the two nuzzled his hand affectionately. With a chuckled, he added, "And very sweet...what about them, though? Your dad said you couldn't ride any of the guard's horses, you know."

"They're ours," explained Artor quickly with a laugh. "Or, mine, to be exact, and I'm letting you borrow one while we go riding together!"

"Your dad bought you these just so you could ride with me?!" demanded Ben in shock. "But horses cost a fortune...!!"

"I know, especially nice ones like these," replied Artor carelessly. "Come on, I'll show you how to saddle and groom them and everything! I used to have a pony of my own when I was little and the stable hands used to let me help take care of her..."

"I thought noble boys weren't supposed to like dirtying their hands for anything," said Ben teasingly as he scratched the mare behind the ears who'd lipped his hand first, getting her to whinny lightly in content. 

"Oh, hush, servant boy," retorted Artor hotly. "I'll dirty my hands whenever I wish to, you know!"

"Spoken like a true noble..." Ben ducked the fist that was meant for his head and laughed, jumping back out of the way before he could get himself kicked as well. "Not fast enough, oh noble one!"

"Get back on over here and let me try again!" replied Artor gamely as he jumped from the stall and stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. "I promise you I won't miss this time!"

"That's exactly why I'm staying over here, away from you!" replied Ben jeeringly. "I'm no moron, thank you!"

"Not, just a gutter rat!"

"And proud of it, noble brat!"

"Why you-"

*RRRRUUMMMBBLLLE* 

Both boys were tossed from their feet as the ground underneath heaved and bucked violently, leaving them lying there dazed long after it had left them and moved on. 

"Artor?" called Ben as he slowly sat up, holding his aching head.

"Yeah?" replied the noble boy as he sat up as well, blinking his unfocused eyes.

"What just happened?"

"I don't know. I think it was a quake...." The ceiling suddenly groaned, both boys jumping to their feet and scrambling out to the main courtyard as the middle section of the roof came crashing down into the walkway below. 

"AHH!!"

"IT WASN'T OUR FAULT!!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Brenna stood there with Cheeks as they looked over the devastation, their faces and minds completely devoid of all hope. The quake had ripped through there not three hours ago, and while the house was still intact and the barn had only lost part of the lost, the fields were completely destroyed and one of the two granaries with it. Luckily it was the empty one, but it was gone just the same. 

"It's gone," whispered Brenna as she sat down on a stump, feeling a deep loss in her heart for every living green thing that had to die. "It's just...gone. There's nothing left..."

"Shh..." Libby came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist from behind, Brenna letting a few tears fall from her eyes before wiping them away vehemently. "We'll make it through, Bren, at least no one was hurt..."

"Hey, I do believe this qualifies as being hurt!" cried Kaitlin from where she lay on her back, a huge lump on top of her head where one of the gutters had come off and whacked her while she ran around in circles calling for help.

"I meant seriously, dear," called Libby back calmly. "There's nothing that you use up there anyways..."

"Oh, that's right...never mind!"

"Right..."

"We can still get the garden through the summer," Cheeks reminded her optimistically. "That plus what we have left in the other silo, well, we ought to make it through another winter without too much trouble. We'll have to ration out the food so it lasts that long, but we can do it."

"We lost an entire crop of grain in 15 minutes," whispered Brenna as she shook her head regretfully. "Excuse me if I find it hard to just toss that loss aside and keep moving."

"But we have to," said Libby with a shrug. "We don't have a choice. Things aren't as easy as they were last time, but we are going to make it through this."

"Don't forget what we have in savings," Rupal reminded them as she came up as well, holding a kerchief to her lip where she'd busted it on the table as she fell. "If the garden comes through alright, we'll have more than enough."

"I hope you're right..."

"So do we all."

"We're all going to be able to make it, right?" asked Jem as he came out of the house holding his bruised arm to his chest from where he'd knocked into a chair. "I mean, it's just gone..."

"Hush," said Kaitlin as she gave the boy a gentle hug, having gotten to her feet and joined the rest. "It'll be fine, we've got Brenna and Libby over us, there's nothing we can't do!"

The two said person's exchanged odds looks. "Heh, I don't know about that..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Alyse and Landon sat up in some trees as Revlis prowled around below, the afternoon heat making them all wish they were some something other than their light-absorbing grays as the pair of students who'd been at the mage teacher's house finally rode off into the distance with no intention of ever coming back.

"This is as good of a chance as ever," murmured Alyse as she slipped out of the tree and down beside Revlis. 

"He's asleep, like every other afternoon," confirmed Landon after he'd landed beside her and linked into her 'eyes' for a moment. "Let's go." 

Like shadows, they crept up on the house and slipped over the back wall and into the house itself, no alarms of magic going off as none of them technically had, as it was defined 'magic' per say, but just gifts that they used. With Revlis picking the back door open, they slipped through that and made their way through the halls, Alyse trying to direct them but soon getting lost as the place was so saturated with the unmagic that she could hardly trace anything alive at all, even her friends beside her.

"You're going to have to do it from here," she murmured as they came into a huge hall, one with wood flooring that Landon's powers would be able to travel through. "We'll keep watch..."

"Ok." The unmagic battler sat cross legged on the floor, glancing about one last time before he went into a full trance and thrust his sword point first halfway to the hilt into the wooden floor, using it as his channel as he ran through the house and the surrounding area, starting out as far as his reach would go and working his way in, slowly consuming every bit of unmagic he found and reverting it back to it's original form. 

"Watch out," murmured Alyse as she sensed something stirring nearby. "We may have company soon..."

"To your left!"

Alyse had her fan out and ready in the blink of an eye, but Revlis had already dropped into her panther form and leapt at the creature that had appeared behind them. It's hide was thick, covered in horny scales, and boasted an impressive pair of tusks, but it wasn't enough. Revlis twisted around mid leap and landed on her back right below it's stomach, all four paws outstretched and claws shinning in the low light as she ripped into the beast's soft underbelly with a vengeance. The fan-tossing mage nearly lost her lunch when the putrid stink of it's guts came rolling across the room at her, Revlis remaining in her predator form as she came back over and lay at Ladon's side, a satisfied smirk on her face. 

"I don't know how you take the smell," muttered Alyse as she continued to cover her nose and mouth with her free hand. Revlis just twitched her ears and whiskers in a cat-shrug, ears swiveling in every direction to catch the sound of any nearby surprises waiting to spring on them like the last time. 

Landon suddenly removed his blade, sweating profusely as he fell flat on his back, breathing heavily.

"Lan??"

"I'm fine," he whispered, grunting with effort as he raised himself back up. "But there's something come, it nearly sent me flying when I hit it in my magical form, I'd hate to see what it would do to me in my physical..."

"What was it?" asked Alyse as she helped him to his feet and they headed for the nearly exit. "What did it look like?!"

"A wave, sort of, only a whole lot bigger and more demented than any I've ever seen."

"Oh, gees, this is gonna hurt...get out of here, now!" Alyse herself used her fan and broke through a window, jumping out to the outside just as the first of the 'wave' hit them, sending the trio tumbling to the ground as the other two jumped out after her at the same time. 

"AHH!!!"

Revlis went back to her human form in mid air, landing painfully on her shoulder as she tired to orient herself and couldn't. The other two just looked on as they tried to stay on their feet themselves, helpless to help each other or even themselves as a black figure suddenly bolted from the house, running off to the woods far to their right.

"There he went, get him!!" They tried to run around the house and were blocked as it caved in, trapping them between it and the 6 foot wall as he disappeared completely out Alyse's partial-trance range. The quake left them as quickly as it had come, leaving in it's path the destruction of the house and loss of their target.

"Son of a-"

"What that tongue of yours, Revlis!"

"Sorry..."

"S'ok, just remember next time."

"Sure, whatever."

"What now?" asked Landon as he rose to his feet, Alyse playing with a few strands of her hair as she thought about it for a moment. 

"Did you finish the cleansing?" she asked at last.

"No..."

"Then we finish that and destroy this place," she replied quiet simply. "And as quickly as possible. After that...we're tracking him down."

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Kristen, Cam, Chris, Mike, Matt, and Jon all shared one side of the giant table as everyone in the Acalon family sat down to an early evening meal, the five fighters and one carpenter having been invited over for a meal as they were every moon or so since they were practically living in the same complex, after all. The wall that surrounded their home and salle also surrounded the other homes on the property, three other mansions to be exact, with a huge courtyard that linked all of them. Theirs was the only one that didn't link directly to the other three, and everyone was fine with that.

"Your business has been doing very well, I see," said Gran'ther Edoar as he partook of the sliced fruits in front of him and passed them on.

"Yes, thank you," replied Kristen, who was usually the main speaker for them when it came to these occasions, the rest were too busy eating cooking that wasn't their own to do otherwise. "And has yours, as it was rumored that one of your sons apprehended a thief that's been escaping the guards for the past few moons..."

"Yes, he has did very well indeed," replied Edoar with an approving nod as a man in his 30's at the other end of the table beamed with pride. "Though, credit must be given where it's due, no matter how grudgingly it is wished. The skills he learned with Master Jon, he tells me, were most helpful indeed."

Jon glanced up, quickly swallowed what he'd been eating and nodded emphatically to Kristen. "See? My course does so come in handy."

"I never said it didn't," replied Kristen, rolling her eyes.

"No, but you think it every time you get up there."

"What I think is my business only, thank you kindly," snapped Kristen. "Stay out of my mind."

"Believe me, I don't want to be in it." Jon shuddered, and went back to eating as some of the others laughed.

"Good." Kristen took a sip of her water and turned back to Edoar politely. "You had mentioned something about a new student, though...?"

"Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me," said Edoar with an approving nod. "We have two more young ones who have been deemed by my daughter, Zahra, to be prepared to take part in your course, Miss Kristen. They, of course, can wait until you have an opening in one of your beginning level courses..."

"Actually, a few spots just opened up when we moved some students around last week," replied Kristen calculatingly as she tired to figure it out in her mind. "I believe it was Tuesdays, the morning class that starts at the 7th bell..."

"Wednesdays," corrected Cam, blushing when all eyes turned towards him, their host's in a disapproving manner and his 'family's' in a curious one. "I mean...it is Wednesdays, ma'am, for the junior class. Tuesday is your advanced class, according to the schedule."

"You're right," admitted Kristen with a shrug. "How does that sound Master Edoar?"

"It shall be done, then," he replied with a nod. "Thank you for such a prompt answer, though-"

Further conversation was interrupted as the room suddenly shook quiet violently, chairs and small tables being knocked over by the vibrations alone. "What the..."

"Someone right that lamp!!!" Everyone scrambled around, trying to do this or take care of that while Kristen and Chris ran for the window, looking towards the house where they lived and relieved to see it stood yet. 

"Oh, thank the lord..."

"It was just a quake, so you can stop screaming your head off, Vani," said Edoar as he righted the chair he'd been sitting in and sat in it again heavily. "Pasco! Run over to the other house and make sure no one was hurt. Vani, go down to the kitchen and make sure the maids are alright...if they aren't run for a healer! Now!"

"Yessir!"

"Going right away, sir!"

"I don't think you should send them off..." offered Kristen weakly as her heart slowly went back to it's normal rate, her body tensing as she remembered the rest of Sandry's Book. "It may not be over quite yet..."

Her words were punctuated by a low grumble in the distance, one all of them could hear as the ground began to shift and move once more, much more violently this time as everyone grabbed futilely for something to hold on to, but there was nothing secure! The house itself stood firm, as did the rest of theirs within the walled area, but by the rumblings and crashes outside their walls, not everyone was so fortunate. Eventually, it moved on and everyone stood or sat there breathing heavily, trying to get their strength back as they slowly began to right things and get their surroundings back to normal.

"Come on," said Chris with a tired jerk of his head as he helped Cam to his feet. "We have to get back and make sure everything's alright."

"We're sorry to leave like this," said Kristen formally as she turned to the patriarch of the Acalon family. "Please, don't take offense..."

"Go," said Edoar with a rough grin. "I know, we'll be doing the same here shortly. If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."

"We won't."

"Come on," said Mike as they made their way around the fallen and broken objects back to the front of the house and out the door. "Let's go make sure we even have a home inside that house!"

"We can only hope..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Jenny took the helm of the ship as she and Tyler took the night watch, he high up in the crow's nest and her steering the silent ship as they glided over the moon-bathed waters. Earlier that day there'd been a most peculiar happening, though Tanner said it was common enough when there were large quakes about. A huge wave had come from the south heading north, carrying them along in its path for several leagues until it finally hit a low spot on the seabed and was submerged enough to let them go and set their original course again. While it had saved them some travel time, Jenny still preferred not to go through it again. 

Sighing as a brisk breeze played with her short wisps of hair, she reflected on how long ago everything seemed, even their coming to this place. It had not even been a year -granted at this point that was nearly one 19th of her life!- but in all, she realized time had flown faster than she'd thought once more and soon they would be celebrating their one year anniversary aboard this ship.

Only nine or ten months with those three brothers, and already they were like family to them! In a way, it felt strange to see and interact with people from her own world in this place, especially from day one. But she supposed that was from her earlier trip where she'd been alone for so long in a strange land...she also found it somewhat ironic that before none of them had ever had any contact with open waters, though there had been an ocean only a few day's ride away, and now she was captain of ship. 

And, as usual, everyone had adapted well enough. Jenny figured that had something to do with the book itself and who's hands it found itself in, otherwise why hadn't they ended up with at least one person who couldn't cope with the realities of an alternate universe? There had to have been 60 people in the band that year, and they just happened to find the only 12 or 13 people in the room at the time who would be able to get through it sanely. The odds weren't that great that they were picked at random and all happened to be fantasy freaks or want to escape for awhile enough to accept it all. The book had to somehow sense who it was 'picking' to go in.

And if that was the case, why her? Why her twice, for that matter? Who else from their world had come in twice...or was she the only one?? What if she was, and the other groups were just as confused and ignorant as she had been when she first came in? She figured the book wouldn't pick anyone who couldn't be reasonably happy here, so it wouldn't be a total disaster, but it sure would be nice if she knew for a fact that someone from the first time was out there keeping an eye out for her friends just like she was. They'd all get together someday, it would just take time. Hopefully less if it was people who were just going through the motions a second time, maybe more if not...

Five years was a long time, and she wasn't sure she wanted to stay here that long and live to be 20 for a second, and then when she got home third time again. Aging and then de-aging again wasn't exactly something she enjoyed...

"Jenny...yoo whoo...you alright in there??" 

"Huh?? Ack!!" 

Jenny stepped back as Tyler swung down in front of her, landing on the railing without a sound and winking roguishly at her. 

"Scared ya, didn't I?"

"What do you want?" asked Jenny as she just shook her head, taking the wheel once more.

"Just wanted to make sure you were ok, you got this funny look on your face for awhile," explained Tyler as he shrugged, then hopped back up on his rope and scampered back on up as fast as he could. "Don't forget to stay awake!"

"I won't!" Jenny yelled back genially. More quietly, she added, "It's staying coherent that might be a problem..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Randy woke up flat on his back, staring at the ceiling of a tent he was sure he'd never seen before but still felt strangely familiar as he slowly got his eyes to focus and sat up slowly, holding his aching head in his hands. 

"Easy, there...drink this," said voice his recognized as a mug was put in his hands, someone helping him bring it to his mouth as he swallowed and almost gagged on the bitter tea.

"Ack...bleh..!! What was that stuff?" he asked hoarsely, accepting another mug of water to rinse his mouth of the taste. "Man, my taste buds have been fried for a week..."

"Willowbark tea," explained Bryanna quietly as she took the offending mug from him and filled the one with water to the brim again. "Drink that down, you've been out for a couple of days and in this heat you need to make sure you stay hydrated."

"Where's Olivia?" asked Randy as he slowly drank it down obediently. "For that matter, what happened??"

"Olivia saved us, though barely," replied Bryanna slowly. "She drained both herself and myself completely getting that ice up in time...and it still wasn't quite enough. You've got a nice lump on the back of your head to attest to that."

"Where is she, though??"

"Right here, numbskull," croaked one very weak voice to his left, Randy turning and seeing Olivia lying there pale as anything with a very worn look to her face, but completely healthy other than that. "Dang it, Bry...why did you get the full boost and I have to heal the hard way??"

"Because my gift is needed right now in tending to others," replied Bryanna with a weary grin. "Yours isn't, and you should get what rest you can so you'll be up and out of my hair faster."

"How bad was the damage?" asked Randy as he sat up completely and swung his legs over the side of his cot. He was still dressed in his school uniform, though someone had removed his boots and placed them beside his bed. 

"Besides the library, one of the forges collapsed in itself and several of the dorms have cracked beams so they have to replace that before they can be used safely again," replied Bryanna tiredly. "Summersea, though, is another matter entirely...we've only got three healers here including myself dealing with the hurt dedicates and novices, every other person that can be spared is down there digging out the survivors. They say a nice chunk of town just fell in on itself..."

"Sounds like we'll be sticking around a bit longer than we thought," sighed Randy as the stuff Bry had added to his tea began to take effect, making him sleepy all of a sudden. "Hmm...I think I'll take a nap..."

"We couldn't even if it weren't so bad," replied Bryanna as she gave Olivia a teasing look. "That one won't be moving out of bed for two or three days yet, and when she does she still won't be up to traveling for at least another week."

"I can be ready in three days..." mumbled Olivia as she began to fall back asleep as well. "Three days...I bet ya...zzz...."

"Rest easy, you two," Bryanna murmured as she covered them both with blankets and went on to check the rest of her charges. "It's been a long couple of days and the next few aren't going to be much better, I'm afraid."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

And that would be a chapter 14, Just for you!! Feel special, please?? That, and review!! It's the really nice thing to do!! It makes us authors happy, and then gives us incentive to go and write more over our Thanksgiving break *hinthinthint*

Anywho, hope you enjoyed it and have a great Turkey Day!!

~Crosseyedbutterfly~

'Little bunny fu fu went hopping through the forest, took a detour over the highway...and got SMASHED by a truck!'


	15. 

We's back. I know, I know, it's been awhile. I had to retype the chapter over (I truly hate my computer) when it was nearly finished and that did put a bit of a damper on the moral of the story...yeah. Anywho, enjoy!

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Ben slipped his new 'play-clothes' tunic over his head, lacing up his right sandal while Nana helped him lace up the second.

"Ben, I want to ask you something," said Nana carefully as she finished it off and turned to his belt, fixing it where it had twisted itself around in strange ways. "How...familiar is the son with you when you're playing?"

"Very, I guess," replied Ben with a shrug. "He said we are to be like equals then, that being servant and master doesn't matter..."

"Ah, but it does," replied the old woman with a nod as she sat herself wearily on his bed. "You must not allow yourself to become to...commonplace with the Master's son. It could lead to later conflicts if you do..."

"How so?" asked Ben, looking genuinely confused as he sat next to her, running a hand through his ever growing hair. He'd never worn it this long before in his life, but they didn't exactly have electric buzzers here, so he kept it as was had the old woman trim it up when she had the time. 

"He's a noble by blood," explained Nana with a shrug. "Eventually, he will have to fulfill that role entirely, and that means leaving you behind, Ben. Be his friend, listen to him, laugh with him, and help him to have a good time, but not try and become like his brother. You're lives are too different, they always will be."

Ben frowned, then nodded slowly. "I...I think I understand." He scratched his chin as he went on. "You want me to be an 'acquaintance friend' not a 'brother friend'."

"Exactly." Nana sighed as she put an arm around the boy's shoulder, holding him tight for a moment. "I don't want you to think I'm trying to ruin your life, Ben, I'm just looking out for you..."

"I know," he said with a grin as he grabbed the hat that had been added to the outfit and ran down the hall to the courtyard, he was running a bit late as it was. "I'll be careful Nana, I promise!"

Nana just sighed and rose to her feet gingerly, beginning the long walk back to the kitchen to help with the cleanup after the meal. He wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but he wasn't plain stupid either. She just hoped he figured out what she'd been referring before he got himself hurt.

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Brenna went with Rupal into town for once, a bag of carrots over one shoulder and some wool they had saved for themselves over the other. The weather was decent, a little chilly as it was rather early in the morning, but they needed nothing more than then light cloaks they wore and were warm enough with the walk they had done. Things were continuing to grow worse back at the farm, the black weeds now spreading into the woods beyond the fields and some had popped up in the flowerbeds around the house itself. If they were lucky, they  might get enough to feed themselves for the winter, but there would be nothing to save for the next harvest, nor anything to sell so that they might buy other much-needed supplies. Things had truly come to a crisis.

"So…where are we headed again?" asked Brenna as she pushed past an old woman with a gaggle of ragged children following her before slipping past a cart that trundled its way down the lane, lade heavily with fresh fruits and such.

"Down there, where our usual stall is," replied Rupal as she waved to an elderly fellow behind a nearby counter. "Aiden! So, finally back on your feet?"

"It took me three months, 'cause of that fool healer who was looking after me," grumbled the old man good-naturedly. "I say I could've been running this durned stall weeks ago, but he wouldn't listen to me and stuck me in that durned bed an extra week when I wouldn't stop fussing at him!"

"That's what you get for being a loudmouth. Do you know where Master Eadins is, though?"

"Right over there, by your stall, actually. You've been gone for awhile yourself, we were afraid you'd all dun packed up and left, or something like that. Everything alright back at the farm?"

"No, not really. It's just a bad year, though, we'll pull through."

"Alright, then…come back and see me before you leave, I might have a baskets or so of leftover stuff I'd be willing to barter off if you'd balance my books again for me."

"I'll be there!"

"You're pretty popular around here," joked Brenna as they continued to walk along, coming to an empty stall on a busy corner with a mark on the counter that the farmer girl had never seen before. "I don't think I've ever heard you willing to string together that many sentences without being talked to first. Is this our stall?"

"Yeah, this mark represents us."

"How do you keep them all straight?"

Rupal shrugged. "You just know."

"…oh, ok."

"Rupal, you're late on your rent payments," said a tall, arrogant gentleman as he bore down on them swiftly, planting himself in front of their stall as if he meant to take root right there if they didn't give him what he wanted. 

"I also haven't been here for over two weeks," pointed out the merchant dourly. "You'll get your crescent, Master Aiden, I've never failed to pay you yet, I just need to make some sales, first…"

"Don't tell me this is all you've brought," he sneered as he looked over their goods. "Half rotten vegetables hardly fit to eat, wool that's over a year past its prime…you've truly fallen a long way from your former glory, Rupal. Were I you, I would find another associate to work with, one who could deliver the right goods." He looked down his long nose at Brenna, disgust obvious in his every move.

Brenna growled at him. "Listen here, you mother-"

"Brenna, would you please go and get the cheese for me?" asked Rupal as she pushed a few coppers in her friend's hands. Looking in her eyes with a silent command to let it be, she added, "Now."

"…fine. I'll be back soon."

"Thank you."

Brenna grumbled under her breath about always missing the fun as she walked off, stowing the coppers safely away as she wandered around, trying to find the dairy district of the market she'd seen on their way in. Eventually winding her way around to it, it was only a matter of time before she found a stall where the cheese was cheap enough for them to afford without being moldy or full of holes mice and rats had made. Paying the man, she took her purchase and placed it under one arm. Turning to observe other around her curiously, her eyes caught something they hadn't seen in a very, very long time…

"JOE!!"

The man turned around quickly, his eyes passing over her many times as she scrambled to get over to him. The way his hair fell, the same laughter hidden in the depths of his brown eyes, even the same way he stood…it was really him!! Everything was going to be ok now, because Joe was here!

"Joe, it's me! Over here!"

"Oh…hello there…" He pushed is hair out of his eyes as he looked over her oddly, something in his gaze making him stop right before she was going to hug him. "Excuse me, ma'am, but…do I know you? I usually go by Joseph around here."

Brenna's mind came to a screeching halt after she heard that, blinking in confusion as well as to stop the tears that immediately welled up in her eyes. "I…"

"Joseph, dear, Kara and Lee are over by you…can you grab them for me?" Brenna looked up and saw another face, one that was alive and filled with joy in a way she never thought she'd see again.

"Rati…?"

"Come here, you two little monsters," laughed Joe as he scooped up a little girl in one arm and a little boy in another, just around two years of age with their father's laughing eyes and their mother's darker hair. "Hey, hey, hey, easy there! You don't want me to drop you, do you?" Turning back to Brenna, he smiled kindly. "Is there something I can help you with?" Rati came and stood by his side, an older girl of seven standing between them who was an exact copy of her mother. 

"No, I just thought you were someone else…my mistake."

"Ok, well I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. Have a good day!"

"Yeah…thank…" Her heart shattered, Brenna turned and walked away, going to the stall to gather up her things before Rupal could protest. "I'm going back to the farm."

"Wait! I thought you were going to…"

"I'll send Cheeks to come and get you," cut in Brenna, the look in her eyes silencing all of Rupal's protests. "You stay, we need the money, I just…I'll see you at home."

"Alright…be careful!"

"Yeah, whatever." Brenna turned and escaped into the crowd, eventually coming to the outskirts of town and breaking into a jog that carried her as far and as fast away from the place as she could manage. She had found Joe, after all these years…and he was lost to her.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Cam stood patiently beside Jon, listening distantly as he rattled on through the long line of crude epithets he'd been muttering for the last hour, sucking on another finger that he'd just hit with the hammer for the third time that day. Holding the can of nails, Cam simply selected another and handed it to him to finish pounding that one in so they could re-hang the set of hooks that had fallen for coats and cloaks during the quake.

"Why did I get stuck with this job again?" he grumbled testily as Cam just shrugged. "Why isn't the resident wood-worker the one who's working with the freakin' nails?"

"Because Chris is at his workshop replacing the bed frames that were cracked, one of which was yours," stated Cam, repeating the long explanation for the third time that day. "Kristen is covering ALL classes so Mike and Matt can sort out what's still good from the cellar and what's not, and the reason they're not doing this is she was afraid they'd nail themselves to the wall. Knowing them, I don't blame her. However, that least you and me and seeing you can reach the high spots, and I can't, then it goes just to you."

"Great…" He reached up above his head and pounded another nail back into its original place, putting the hammer down and lifting the shelf and hooks to place them where they'd last hung. "Well, at lest it got me out of the cellar job. All those crack jars and crap…I don't envy them, have to go through all that."

"Yeah, but you know someone's going to have to go back through one they're done and make sure it's right."

"That someone will NOT be me. Kristen will do it, because she's the only one who cares.  I don't go buy the food, I just cook it."

"Lazy…"

"Your point? I've never denied it after all."

"I think we'd all have a heart attack and die should it prove otherwise."

"Now, that's not fair! I worked very hard for my Eagle Badge in scouts, and I did decently well in high school for most of my Senior year of high school."

"That equals maybe two years out of the 20 you've lived."

"Almost 21!"

"Right…"

"OUCH!! SON OF A-"

"What that mouth of yours!" cut in Chris as he walked in, lugging a few heavy loads of lumber over his shoulder. "Come on, man! You got Cam standing right here! Least you could do is do that when he's not in the room…"

"If he's not corrupted already from living with me, Matt, and Mike he will be soon, so there's no use trying to shield him anymore," shot back Jon, rolling his eyes. "He's what…14? 15? You guys really should let him out more often."

"With you, so he can get drunk off his butt and end up in a whore house some place between here and the next port over? I don't think so."

"No, Jon's more the type to get him in a taproom brawl, break three bones, set the place on fire, then run away and somehow miraculously not get caught until three weeks later on when he lets it slip to one of his friends…the first one would  be Mike."

"Nice to see you too, Kristen," drawled the said young man in reply. "Someone's being awfully nice today, what's the occasion?"

"Your funeral, Mike."

"You wish."

"Oh, believe me, I do."

"What, you don't love me?"

"Must I truly answer that?"

"Enough, you two," cut in Chris as he handed Mike the  better part of his load and pushing him in front of him to the ladder upstairs. "There's work to be done, and only a few of us to do it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

 %~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Balancing an ice globe in one hand and holding onto the reins with another, Olivia walked her horse along the side of the road. Bryanna and Randy to her right as they went on, they shielded themselves from the sun each in their own way. "You're sure we have to do this?" whined Randy, wiping sweat from his eyes as it began to drip down his face once again.

"Yes, you detoured us therefore you no longer have a right to have a voice in what we do for awhile," replied Bryanna forcefully as she glared at him out of the corner of her eye. 

"That only makes two, though, and if it comes to a vote and you don't agree you'll need someone to break the tie…"

Olivia gave Bryanna a look, and the healer nodded in understanding. "We won't disagree."

"That's what you say now, but just you wait…women always disagree about something at one point or another."

"Always?" Olivia shot Randy a glare that immediately made him reconsider his words.

"Well, I wouldn't know personally…being a guy…so yeah. Or no! I don't know, just don't hurt me!"

"Why would I, then she'd just have to heal you again," replied Olivia logically with a shrug. "Burned out healers are worth nothing, therefore I'm not going to run her down on you, thus making more work for me hauling her incoherent body around until it's absolutely necessary."

"If I were close to dying, would you let her heal me?"

"Depends…how close to being dead are you and what's it worth to me?"

"Olivia!"

"What?"

"Here's our turn." Bryanna's announcement cut through any further arguments, all of them checking one last time it was right before taking the turn to the left. Another half a mile down the road and they ad made it to the first workshop mage they'd visited after leaving the creepy mage's place.

"Master Randy! Mistress Olivia! Mistress Bryanna! Oh, it's good to se you all again!!"

"Not her…" groaned Randy as he dismounted in the courtyard, pasting a pleasant smile on his face as he turned back around and faced the young, plump woman who generally took care of the household for the absent-minded mage. "Greetings, Madame Foster! How have you been since our last visit?"

"Very well, I thank you, Master Randy," came the cheery reply. "You're always such a proper gentleman!"

"What of Master Helaind, has he been well?" asked Bryanna as she gathered her healer's kit and tossed it over her shoulder. "He hasn't gone through the cream I made him for his skin problems, has he?"

"He hasn't needed it, I'm afraid," replied the woman as her face fell. "He's not doing very well at all."

"Really? What's the matter? Something I could help him with, perhaps?"

"I'm afraid not, Mistress Bryanna…he's dead."

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Revlis rode off out of sight as Alyse and Landon tracked the unmagic mage, following him through several small and hidden towns that weren't on their map. She had to get a message to the Council about some things they'd found there among the ruins, and the nearest 'outpost' was three days ride north. She'd track the pair afterwards, and find them fast enough, but until then they were on their own.

Through the open country, and even through and ancient graveyard that spanned several miles at one point they continued on. Riding, walking, riding, walking, riding, stopping to eat, getting a few hours of sleep, then up again at dawn to follow the same routine. Their escapee was not going much faster than they, but he stop his mounts as he went and rode them to exhaustion, leaving them to die on the side of the road after they collapsed  under him and would ride no more. Three times they'd come across the carcasses he'd left behind, and other they heard of as they went.

"Can you find him?" asked Landon as they paused an a small inn for lunch, their own supplies completely exhausted though they'd eaten very little in the past few days. 

"He's not far from here, we're drawing in on him." Alyse opened her eyes, her lips curling into a strange smile. "He will be ours very, very soon."

"Good, once we find him I can actually get some sleep again," groaned Landon, rubbing the bags under his eyes gently. "I can't wait…"

"Too bad, looks like you're gonna have to. Are you done?"

"Yeah, what about you?"

"I can eat as we ride. Let's go." Paying for their meal, and taking some extra with them, they saddled the horses in record time and were on their way once more. 

"Where's he headed?" asked Landon as Alyse fell into an easy trance in the saddle, having strapped herself in so she could even sleep without having to hold on to her mare. 

"…across the coast now," she murmured. Frowning, she tried to scan what was between them and couldn't. "..wait…wait, he…what?!" Her eyes flew open as she reined in her mare, stopping completely in the middle of the lane.

"Hang on! What are you-"

"Just give me a sec!" Throwing herself into a full trance, Alyse sat there on her horse in the middle of the road as she scanned the land ahead of them, opening her eyes after awhile to find one very worried Landon.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, he just…disappeared! I thought it was impossible, though."

"Apparently not. Can you trace him to where you felt him last?"

"Yeah, it's still fresh…"

"Then we'll go there."

"Alright, this way." Alyse coaxed the mare into a gallop as she made a straight line for the place, disregarding the roads and personal property boundaries as they cut through fields and gardens, Landon leaving a trail of coins behind whenever they did to pay for the damages made.

"Can't you go around?" he groused as they walked through another one, giving the horses another rest before breaking into a run once more. "We're going to run out of money this way."

"I never said you should pay for it," came the short reply.

"What, and just leave those fields like they were?"

"Why not?"

"Alyse!"

"Yes?"

Landon rolled his eyes, smacking himself in the forehead. "Women…"

"Don't try and understand me, it'll only make your head hurt."

"I know, I know…"

They went on in silence, coming to the edge of a swamp that stretched in either direction as far as the eye could see. Landon glanced at Alyse, who was frowning. 

"What now?"

"This is where it ends."

"…you're kidding, right?"

"Nope." Alyse got down and walked around a bit, stopping by the edge as she found something in the mud. "And he definitely went in there."

"Foot steps?"

"And one of this buttons."

"Could be a trap," offered Landon.

"He's not bright enough to do something like that, the way he's been acting," replied Alyse scornfully.

"…oh. We're not going in there, though…are we?"

"What do you think, Sherlock?" Alyse gave him a look, mounting up again before she rode off among the murky puddles and low plants.

Landon looked after her, gulping visibly. "Dang."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"And here I put this cool spirally thing, with these dots, and it looks kinda like scales." Gwen lifted her sleeve to display the ink-markings proudly.

"It might look better if you swirled it to the left, rather than the right," offered Talia as she tilted her head to the side ever so slightly. "I could be wrong, though."

"Ok, I'll try that next time!" Gwen grinned at her brightly.

Talia frowned in confusion. "Next time?"

"Yeah, it's just ink I took from Jenny, it'll come off in a few days."

"Oh…well, mine aren't fake." Talia displayed her arm, a sea dragon winding itself all the way from her shoulder to her wrist, done so the scales looked like they moved whenever she flexed her compact muscles slightly.

"Whoa, cool!! When did you get that?"

"When I turned 15. Girls in my family usually do, though most are not as extravagant as mine." Talia's grin widened considerably. "I am just very thankful to the water guardians for my life."

"Why's that?"

"They didn't demand my life, like they did with my sister many, many years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry…"

"It was a long time ago, it's alright."

"Oh…ok."

Then it hit Gwen. "Wait, wait, wait…I can get a tattoo here, can't I? Without, like, parental permission and everything??"

"Uh…yeah, I guess," replied Talia with a shrug. "Whatever that is…you can get just about anything you want with enough gold in your pockets and enough sense in your head to keep away from the stupid, dangerous stuff out there."

"Jenny! Jenny! Jenny! Jenny!!" Gwen ran all the way to the Captain's cabin, shouting at the top of her lungs with a huge grin on her face.

"What is it?! What's wrong?" Jenny came pounding out of her cabin, dressed only in a shirt and pants as she'd been taking a nap. "Gwen, what happened?!"

"Nothing, silly! But guess what? I'm gonna get a TATTOO!!!"

Jenny gave her a blank look as Jack just laughed . "Hang on…you called to me from across the ship and made me think you set the hold on fire again or something like JUST because you wanted to tell me you were getting a tattoo?"

"Um…yeah? And because you love me you're not going to throw me overboard, right?"

"GWEN!"

"I'm sorry!!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Briteyes whistled to herself as she made her way along the road, her staff across her shoulders with everything else slung on her back in a sack or on its own separate straps. Her worn, leather sandals scuffed the road lightly, raising a cloud of dust as she went. Hood up and her nice clothes packed in her bag, she looked more like a beggar than a player who'd done nicely for having only been out a couple of months. The quake had set her back a bit, but she'd been out on the road that day and it was no hardship for her to trade her meals for labor in helping people dig out their homes and put their fields to rights rather than play a tune to their liking. Though she did play, that didn't mean she'd always charge for it.

Seeing the tall, familiar walls and towers rising in the distance, she picked up her pace to an easy trot and smiled in spite of herself. The quake was past, and thus the four would be there. She'd get to see Lark and Rosethorn again, and pick up a few extra, free meals while she was at it. Life was good.

"Who are you miss?" asked the guard at the gate as he stopped her as he should.

"A friend, I can tell you that," came the jovial reply. "Just a musician coming to visit some dedicates I know."

"A name, if you will."

"She don't need one," said his partner as he glanced up, recognizing her mask immediately with a grin. "How you be, missy? Going to play for us again, are you?"

"Well enough, sir," she replied with a nod. "And perhaps, if the Honored Moonstream asks me to. Good day to you both, gentlemen, but I must be going!"

"We're supposed to get names, Trent, what'd you let her through for?"

"She's Briteyes, Gent. That player that was here a few months ago recovering from this or that, remember?"

"Ah, right…"

[You really should just give them your name] lectured Silven as she woke suddenly, scrambling out of Briteyes' pouch to come sit on her shoulder and twitch her nose hungrily. [It's not…ooh, nuts!!] The squirrel jumped to the ground and scampered off, the performer letting her be as she'd know where to find her later on and continued n her way.

The sun was just rising full in the sky when she reached the front door and had made it through the gate, knocking on the door to the cottage. "Come in!" came the rough command, Briteyes smiling as she recognized Rosethorn's voice and opened the door. "Who is it and what do you want?"

"Just wondering if you might have food enough to feed a lowly performer," came the light reply, Briteyes finding herself in a rib-crushing hug before she'd taken more than a step or two in the door. A second pair of arms joined the first, the two dedicates jointly squeezing the air out of her. "Ack! Hey…I have to breath here…"

"You young scoundrel!" scolded Rosethorn as she pulled away, hiding her relief with annoyance as she proceeded to give the performer a well-deserved tongue lashing. "Since when is a few months equal to four? We expected you at least two months ago, you said as much when you left…"

"I know, I know…and I'm sorry," replied Briteyes as she removed her hood carefully. "I-"

"And you can take off that mask while you're at it," added Rosethorn sharply. "We're the ones who gave it to you, we know what it hides…and there's no need to hide here, Briteyes." Her face softened a little as the performer did so, placing it on the table. "You were saying?"

"I got held up by the quake," explained Briteyes with a shrug. "Lots of folks buried in their houses, fields that needed to be set to rights…I did what I could to help, but not everyone could afford to feed another mouth for the help I could give."

"Look at her, she's skin and bones," said Lark softly as she shooed Briteyes over to the table and set her on one of the benches. "Come, you are going to be here for a few days and we are going to feed you, understand? Performers have to have a decent meal every once in awhile, too. I would know."

"If you have space enough, I would be more than happy to accept your 'invitation' to stay," replied Briteyes teasingly, whistling to Silven as the squirrel suddenly came jumping in through a window. "There you are, you frisky furball."

[What can I say? The lure of some of Dedicate Gorse's fresh candied almonds was too much for even me…]

Rosethorn hid her smile as Lark chuckled gently, Briteyes just rolling her eyes at her friend's growing gut. "Squirrels…rats with bushy tails and bottomless stomachs, each and every one of them."

[Hey now!]

"Hey, what's all the hubbub about out here?" groused Briar as he stuck his head out his bedroom door, surprised to see Briteyes sitting there at the table with Silven perched on her shoulder. "Oh…"

"Get dressed and clean up your room, boy, breakfast will be soon," said Rosethorn as she pointed back into his room. "Hurry!"

"My name's Briar!" he called back defiantly as he closed the door, two others coming tumbling down the stairs, one a trader dressed in tan leggings and a blue shirt with a scarlet band about her forearm. The other was a young girl of the same age, with curly red hair and freckles all over her plump face.

"Tris, Daja, get the tea started, will you?" asked Rosethorn as she set the porridge to warm herself, adding a side of bacon on an afterthought with a pan to fry it in.

"What's the occasion?" asked a sleepy voice as a blonde-haired, blue eyed girl of the same age as the rest of her housemates came shuffling out of her room. "I can smell the bacon all the way in my room."

"Use those eyes of yours, and maybe you'll find the answer," came the curt reply.

Sandry spotted Briteyes, and grinned. "Oh! I'm sorry. My names Sandry." She dropped into a curtsy, the performer chuckling as she rose slowly. 

"Well, if we're going to be formal, I might as well introduce myself as well," she said in a low voice. Dropping into a performer's one-legged bow, she said regally, "I am Briteyes the Traveler, performer upon any and all instruments of your choosing, and minor magician, of sorts." She 'plucked' a daisy from behind the girl's ear and handed it to her. "Very, very minor though."

"You…" Briar looked at her frowning, then shrugged off whatever it was that was bothering him and moved to help set the table. "What happened t'your face? Most player's and such dun have such markings."

"I don't know," admitted Briteyes with a shrug. "I suppose I was in a fight of sorts…and it did leave me with some nice marks here or there, but seeing as I can't remember it, it really doesn't matter."

"Is this your squirrel?" asked Sandry as she carefully reached up towards Silven, the squirrel crawling slowly over to her hand and sitting in it contentedly.

"Yes, she is…be nice, Silven…"

[I'm always nice.]

"Time to eat," said Rosethorn as she set the bacon and porridge with honey and cream on the table. "Come on, now, sit down…careful with that pot, Tris! And get the cinnamon, Daja, while you're up."

Briteyes smothered a smile as the two did as she said immediately, looking over the feast spread before her hungrily. She was going to enjoy this stay very much indeed.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Come on, Brenna, it's not so bad," said Kaitlin comfortingly as Brenna just took another bite of the half-eaten apple pie in front of her, refusing to reply. "I never knew, Joe, but this can't be the same guy!"

"It is, I tell you! Everything, from his eyes to the way he smiled and even just the way his hair fell in his eyes…it was Joe…my Joe…" A tear formed in her eye, sliding slowly down her cheek as she slammed a fist on the table. "It's not fair, it's just not fair…"

"It's a different world, remember? You can't control the fact that this one got married before he ever met you…"

"The original Ratina died, didn't she?" asked Libby cautiously as she sat down on Brenna's other side. 

"Yeah, I always felt guilty about that one…like, I should've stopped it somehow. Like it was my fault."

"Sweety…they might've gotten together back then, too, if you hadn't popped into their lives. For all you know, you're the one who didn't belong."

"LIBBY!!" Kaitlin stared at the bunny girl as she just shrugged.

"What? It's true, isn't it?" Libby spread her hands out in front of her. "We're talking about hopping between worlds here! We were the intruders there, the ones that would never really belong, just like we are here! We may love our new life, but we have an old one that calls us to us constantly. Eventually, we will have to go back home, just like we did then. "

"I know, but you can't just…look at her!"

"Thanks for the pie, but you guys just aren't helping things right now." Brenna rose quickly, disappearing up the stairs an into her room before either could move. "Just stay away, I'll come down when I'm ready to." Her door slammed shut, leaving the two standing there staring at each other.

"Great, look at what you did," said Libby as she turned to walk off. "Now she's going to stay up there and starve to death because of you!"

"Me?! I didn't…"

"Uh huh, sure…that's what they all say…"

"But I-"

*SLAM*

Kaitlin grumbled to herself as she cleaned up the table, rolling her eyes. Brenna had the right of it, it really wasn't fair.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Watch this block right here…" Mike and Matt stood across from each other as they taught a group of their higher-end students how to fence one-on-one in a 'no rules' situation. "See? No matter what he does, if I block him like this while I cannot easily retaliate…he also can't break through the defense because it doesn't leave a hole."

Mike grinned suddenly. "Unless I do this…" He twisted his rapier around Matt's, attempting to break it from his grip altogether when Matt used the locked blades to his advantage and held them both off to his side, pulling out a dagger and holding it to Mike's throat with raised eyebrows.

"As you can see," said Matt as he pulled away suddenly, sheathing the dagger and standing apart from Mike who rubbed his throat gently. "Even that will not work."

"What if we don't know how to do that, though?" asked one of the students lightly.

"You'll learn," replied Matt as Mike suddenly got an evil glint in his eye. "That's what your parents are paying us for, right? So you can learn."

"Hey Matt, why don't I show you a new trick I just learned…" Mike lunged at his partner, Matt using the block he'd just shown the students. Mike then twisted his blade, just like last time, and Matt pulled it off to the side and reached for his dagger when  Mike's foot shot out and kicked him in the gut, pushing him back and freeing his blade as he then leapt forward and held it at Matt's exposed throat.

"Try it again," challenged Matt as he straightened up, holding his blade at ready as before. "You won't be able to pull the same trick this time."

"Really? Because I think I will…" Mike struck out, Matt using the block, their swords intertwined, Matt reaching for his dagger…but this time, when Mike's foot shot out he moved his arm and caught the appendage between his wrist and his gut. Stepping forward, he twisted his right wrist just enough to free his blade and brought it hilt first straight into Mike's face.

"Foul!" yelled Mike as he stumbled back, holding his nose tenderly as his eyes watered.

"There are no rules this time, remember?" asked Matt with a superior grin on his face. "Don't bite off more than you can chew next time, bud."

"You're not a better fencer than I am!"

"I never said I was," replied Matt lightly as the other students there chuckled at their instructor's plight. "I'm just smarter…and more devious."

"No rules, huh," commented Jon from the doorway. "Say, Matt, do you want me to take Mike's place and go for a round?"

"No thank you," said Matt quickly with shudder. "Getting my face ground into the mud once was time enough, thanks."

"Aw, come on, it wasn't so bad…we were only using wooden blades too."

"I know, which is what worries me…all my bones are rather whole right now, Jon, and I'd like to keep them that way, thanks."

"Wuss."

"No, just smart, unlike my partner here."

"Compared to you, Matt, I'm a friggin' genius. Who got a nearly perfect score on the SAT?"

"Not book smart, you idiot, common sense smart."

"Oh…uh…"

"Don't hurt yourself trying to think of a comeback, now," said Jon as he waved and left the room. "Sprain your wrist, and Kristen can wrap it up for you. Sprain your brain, or at least the little bit of it that's useful, and we might be in trouble."

"…dammit, just go away!"

"I am."

The class laughed as Mike fumed, Matt chuckling before he continued the lesson as well. "Alright, pair up and we'll see what you've gotten out of this little…demonstration."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Randy paced the room as Bryanna sat beside Olivia, talking in low voices though from the pace the words flowed they weren't as calm as they were putting on to be. "He can't be dead, there has to be a mistake…" he muttered to himself as he held his head in his hands, trying to find some other reason besides the medallion and couldn't. The Master hadn't been an old man, just well-worn from hard work and years in the sun. He had had skin problems due to it, but those weren't life-threatening as much as they were just irritating. Bryanna had confirmed again and again that his health had been fine right up until they'd left, he hadn't been sick in years and he kept as busy as any without wearing himself down to nothing. There was no reason he should have died…except the medallion.

"We need to get out of here," said Olivia suddenly as she stood as well, heading for her things. "This place…there are those who can sense unmagic, you know. And if the body was buried with the medallion, it will feed off the rotting flesh until it grows to be a pool of the stuff and finishes the corpse completely. I know Randy carries the taint now, I read something about it back at the library in Winding Circle, and there are those than can sense it, you know. Should the authorities find us here, we could be killed…"

"They won't kill us, we'll just explain everything to them and everything will be fine," replied Randy as he crossed his arms over his chest. "We have enough, we can hire a lawyer and get ourselves out of this mess…"

"Idiot, things like that don't exist here!" cried Bryanna as she stood as well, putting a hand on her forehead. "The courts, everything…it's all done differently here. We don't know how things work, for all we know all you have to have is the taint and you're hung without a trial! Heck, they may not even know what a trial is, all it could be is you break the rules you lose your head or a hand, depending on the offense!"

"No, this is an organized society, there is some sort of judicial system here," countered Olivia as she reached for her things. "We need to go now, though, so we can figure out what to do where we have less chance of being caught…"

"We're not going anywhere until the morning," stated Randy firmly as he took Olivia's bags from her hands and set them back by the door. "We don't need to. Besides, wouldn't it look suspicious if we leave now, after dark, when we've already agreed to stay for the night?"

"Oh, and last time we listened to you it turned out ever so well, didn't it?" asked Bryanna caustically. "It's your fault we're in this mess as it is, Randy! You, and those stupid medallions you just had to carry around for your precious 'Master'…damn you both!"

"That's enough," cut in Olivia before the other female could go off on another tirade about their situation. "Yelling and pointing fingers won't get us anywhere. However, she is right, Randy. We're not staying the night, even now we've been here longer than we should've…I have a feeling that if we don't leave now things could get very, very bad for us."

"We're not going anywhere!" yelled Randy, thoroughly ticked off. "You're both anal psychopaths, you know that?! Nothing is going to happen, and I am not going to give up the first real bed and hot bath I've had in a-"

*CRASH*

The door came tumbling inwards as twenty guards rushed into the room, the three mages finding themselves all jumped on and roughly pushed against the wall, their hands bound behind their backs as charms were placed around their bindings to ensure they couldn't use their magic. Olivia's guards were a little slow, and she's frozen a few hands in the process, but she was bound with her two companions none the less and forced to stand before a tall man in a black robe, who searched through their pockets indifferently, his eyes flashing as he drew a handkerchief out of Randy's pocket.

"You didn't!" hiss Olivia as the man drew out one last medallion, the one Randy had worn for all that time. "Randy, you said you'd gotten rid of ALL of them…!!"

"Do you admit to have been in possession of many, many medallions of this likeness?" asked the man as he stared in their eyes.

"…yes," said Randy as the words were forced from his mouth by the mage's truth spell. "I…was the one that carried them…"

"Who did you give them to?"

"Mages…teacher mages we met…"

"Why?"

"Because I was told to…I didn't know what they were, I swear-"

"SILENCE!" Randy cried out as he was smacked firmly on either cheek, his lip splitting from the impact of the heavy hand inside the leather glove of one of his guards. "You will answer only that which I ask you, and you've told me enough that I know now that you are the three that I've been looking for. You're under arrest for knowingly spreading the taint of unmagic, with a sentence that is yet to be determined by the Council of Mages. Guards, get their things and bring them with us. The search is done."

"Idiot!" cried Olivia as she struggled against her bonds, leaning towards him with an anger in her eyes that made him shirk back. "I told you…we both told you…you saw what it did to her!! How could you…?!"

"Gag them if they won't stay quiet," added the man as he knocked Olivia upside the head with his hand. "Come, we leave now."

Bryanna just hung her head as she tried to move her arms in the most comfortable position possible, though the ropes sawed at her wrists every time she moved. They were in a tight spot, she knew that, but life as a thief had taught her to bide her time, to wait patiently for the right moment. She wasn't sure yet what hand had been dealt to her, but she would wait, always wait…there was time enough for now. She just had to be sure to make her move before it was too late.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Landon stumbled along behind Alyse, leading his horse through the mists and muck that surrounded them on all sides. For days now they'd walked, and not yet reached the end of this cursed place. Or it felt like days, he couldn't be sure though. When there were trees, they were so thick and dense they would have no light but that which they  carried with them for miles on end, and when there weren't a fog unlike any he'd seen before would hang about them, leaving only a few yards in either direction able to be seen, and nothing overhead at all.

Keeping his head down, he didn't realize Alyse had stopped and walked right past her, putting one foot in front of the other as he had for the last few hours…

"Landon, stop! You…"

*RUMBLE*

Landon stopped, quickly backing up as the ground he'd walked on began to break up and fall in, creatures dark as night with fangs and claws emerging from them as the green slime that oozed from their jaws dripped wetly to the ground.

"This isn't good, is it?" asked Landon quietly as he backed towards Alyse, both horses breaking away suddenly and disappearing into the fog with a few of the creatures disappearing to go after them.

"No," she replied as she drew both of her fans slowly. "It's not. Just walk very slowly, maybe…" She paused, gulping as they crept closer. "…we can slip by them.."

"RAEEWWW!!!" 

"AHH!!" Landon clapped his hands over his ears as Alyse just stood there and bore it, fully opening both fans as the first two charged at them. Landon drew his short sword and began to hack away with it wildly, grabbing a dead branch in the other hand and using that as well. The first one jumped at him and he managed to spear it straight through, crying out as the acidic blood burned away the top layers of skin on his hand.

Alyse was not much better. She kept her back to a tree she'd managed to get behind her and slashed away at her foes, throwing one as one of them leapt at her. It took the head off completely and implanted itself in the skull of another, but it did her no good for now she only had one weapon left to fight with.

Hearing something above her, she looked up just as one of the creatures dropped down on her from above. Instinctively rolling off to the side, she was caught by another with her fan-arm pinned underneath her. Screaming as it dug its claws along her back, she dimly heard Landon calling her name as something very big and black came bounding out of the swamp…and then everything went dark…

_'Alyse…wake up Alyse…'_

_'…she be ok…?'_

_'Don't know…'_

Alyse slowly opened her eyes, seeing only a dirty pant leg of whoever was kneeling next to her. Gingerly turning her head so her eyes traveled up, she saw Landon looking down on her with Revlis at her side. 

"You're alright," breathed Landon as he helped her sit up, careful not to touch her back as she noticed a dull ache coming from that area.

"What…happened…" she gasped through cracked lips, gratefully taking the bowl of water Revlis handed to her and drinking it down quickly.

"I'll tell you later, just eat, ok?" said Landon as he handed her a piece of bread and some soup. Alyse did as she was told, going through the meal as if she hadn't eaten for days before laying back down on her stomach again. Moments later, she was fast asleep…

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"What about this shade of blue, though?" asked one of the young women as she held up a scrap of dyed fabric, Nicole holding still as the others there debated among themselves which color they liked better.

"The dark does compliment the others more…"

"Yes, but we are dark enough as it, my friends! The lightest of us is a dark brown, right?"

"Yes, she has a point, working in the sun…light colors would do better for us!"

"Besides, with the ship being as plain as it is, we should lighten things up a little, shouldn't we?"

"Aye, aye…"

"Please make up your mind, my arms are getting heavy!" piped up Nicole from where she stood in the middle of a small table, everyone else gathered around her in a circle. The crew, which had originally had only the four 'off-worlders' and the three brothers now was somewhere in the 20's, and with the new folks had come six women, Talia being one of them.

"Here," said Gwen as she picked up two spools of thread and put them on either side of her, resting her arms on that. "How's that?"

"Better, thanks…"

"Here's another idea…" offered one of the women, an older woman in her mid thirties who'd never married and now worked as the ship's main metal-smith. She was also one of Tanner, Tyler, and Trevor's aunts, which made her being there with them on the ship all the most appropriate. She pulled out three other colors, a light blue, a light orange, and a sage green. "Any two of the three go well together, right?"

"Yeah."

"Sure."

"Aye."

"In a way…"

"Then this would work best. We make them in these three colors, let the other choose their own combination from what we have available, and go from there."

"…I like it."

"Yeah, sure."

"Ok!"

"Sounds good to me."

"I think we should add white to it!"

Everyone paused, looking at Tajlin -the aunt- who considered it and then nodded. "White would be fine."

"Are we in agreement then?"

"Yes!"

"Uh…shouldn't you guys ask the Captain?" asked Nicole as they all rose to leave, chattering away happily.

"Jenny? Oh, she won't mind," said Talia with a wink as she left and headed up for the deck.

"Oh boy…"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Briteyes sat on the roof as Silven chased Little Bear around the yard, the pair having hit it off right from the start. While her human companion had teased her about becoming more and more of an animal everyday, she'd merely bit her on the ear again and left it at that.

Rubbing the fang marks Silven had ever so kindly left her with, she absently played a set of panpipes something that sounded like the shire melody from Lord of the Rings. Hearing the door to the roof open behind her, she glanced over and saw Tris climbing up onto the roof. Moving over and putting her back to the wall, she gave the merchant girl some room as she sprawled over the peak of the house, watching the clouds go by.

Several minutes passed, and just as Briteyes as about to leave to go find Silven and make her work with her in the garden for awhile her young companion spoke up.

"Why are you here?"

Briteyes paused in surprise, raising her eyebrows slightly. "A free place to sleep and get better than decent meals, plus time to spend with old friends...why not?"

"You brought your hunger and loss of funds on your self, though," came the sharp reply. "I heard you talking to Rosethorn and Lark last night, about giving away whatever you had earned to feed those who had nothing and helping others even when there was no gain for yourself. I also heard them talking later on, after you'd gone up to sleep in the attic. You're really good at you do, both playing your instruments and using your magic. You could probably be famous, if you wanted. And rich, too, rich enough that you'd never had to worry about your next meal again. So why don't you?"

"Why would I want to?" snorted Briteyes lazily. "Wealth and fame like that always comes with a price, one that may be higher than I am willing to pay. I've been someplace similar to that, hun, and it's not what I want...I'm content with what I have at this time."

"Scrounging what few coins you can earn from commoners, hoping to find someone kind enough to share their meal with you, sleeping under the stars most of the time," replied the young mage dourly. "It doesn't sound like much of a life to me."

"But you're forgetting part of it."

"I am?"

"Oh yes...the best parts of all." Briteyes smiled lightly, playing a flippant run along the panpipes for a moment. "The walking along a silent road with nothing but the starry expanse of a sky stretching overhead endlessly in either direction, making a stranger smile even if he has naught to offer in return, the wonders of mountains towering overhead and valleys that spread before you like carpets, playing because you're happy to be alive and sharing it with others, and then a friend's hug that welcomes you home when you return again. While it might be a hard, dusty, low-paying job, I like it just fine."

"Those things are nice, but they'll get you nowhere in life."

"You're right, but that hardly matters to me."

The girl huffed in annoyance. "Are mages always this confusing?"

Briteyes grinned. "Probably."

[Make that a yes…] Silven scrambled up the roof to Briteyes' shoulder, sitting there pertly as she sniffed the wind. [I don't get you guys, and I've been around mages for, what would it be now plus Tortal…8 or 9 years?]

"Silven…"

"Do you understand what she's saying?" asked Tris as she watched Briteyes listen as the squirrel chattered some more, chuckling as if they shared a private joke.

"In a way," replied Briteyes with a shrug. "Want to hold her?"

"…can I?"

"Sure, just be gentle…Silven, go on…"

[Stop ordering me around like some mindless beast…I'll go already…]

The performer watched as Tris gently cradled the fuzzy animal in her hands, taking one away to scratch her behind the ears.

[Ah…the bliss of being small, furry, and cute…]

As Briteyes burst into laughter, Tris looked at her strangely and scooted away. 

"Mages really ARE strange…"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Brenna came downstairs after two days head held high as she smoothed her dress and asked for something to eat. Kaitlin quietly made it for her, the rest of the family gathering around the table as they watched her closely. Slowly, bit by bit, she ate it all and pushed her plate aside. Draining the last of her well water away, she rose slowly and sighed.

"I have an announcement to make," she said carefully, the silent room going even more still as everyone even stopped breathing lest they interrupt her. "I…have accepted it that things are as they are. However…I will not be returning to town again. Ever. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Ok."

"That's fine."

"Whatever you need, sweety."

"Just as long as you're alright."

"Does that mean you're all better now?" asked Jem as he came over and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Yes, I'm all better now," she replied as she hugged him back.

"Good, cuz I dun really know what was going on, but I didn't like it!!"

"Well, it's over now." Brenna looked down at him with a wry smile. "I promise, everything is going to be just fine."

"Good!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Kristen called out the drill as she paced up and down the lines, occasionally correcting a block or a strike depending on which side of the line she was one. "Switch!" she called suddenly, all drills stopping as they waited for another set of direction. "Same Strike-block pattern, with high, middle, and low kicks. Ready…begin! One and two and one and two and…"

Motioning for Cam to take back over with counting off the drills, she walked back down the line she'd just come and adjusted a few more of her student's stances. Hearing the city clock ring four times, she called it to a halt and gathered them around her. "Keep practicing, and tomorrow we start the try outs for who gets to advance on to the next class," she reminded them quickly. "Now go, and be careful!"

"Ma'am, father wishes to speak with you again," said one of her students as he tugged on her sleeve, pointing over by the door. There stood pretty boy, as she'd mentally dubbed him, waiting for her to take notice of him with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Backing up a step, she growled under her breath as she shuddered involuntarily. The first reason being he was the last person she wanted to talk with today, and second being the main theme of the flower arrangement was PINK. Of all the colors he had to choose…

"Sorry, but I have to run this to the kitchen first," replied Kristen as she motioned to the basket of goods that some folks chose to pay their children's 'education' with. "I'll be back in a minute, but he doesn't have to wait if he doesn't want to."

"I'll let him know," replied the boy as he gave her an understanding look. "Hopefully, he won't want to wait too long…" As much as the boy liked having Kristen as a teacher, he certainly didn't want her as a mom and since she didn't want to be his mom either, they'd come to an understanding.

"Alright." Kristen turned and walked towards the door, intercepted halfway there by Matt who took the basket from her hands quickly. 

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but you're going to go back and accept those flowers if it kills you!"

"Hey, for all you know it just might!" snapped Kristen back as she reached for the basket and missed as he pulled it out of reach. "Matt, don't make me do this…I can't stand being around him, you know that!"

"I don't see why, he's never even laid a hand on you," replied Matt as he rolled his eyes.

"If he did, I'd break his neck."

"Look…just go accept the flowers, alright?"

"Ok…fine." Kristen turned around as Matt handed the basket off to Cam, sending him with it so he could follow her and watch what happened.

"You're looking absolutely wonderful today, my lady," the lord swooned as Kristen gingerly accepted the flowers, attempting to discreetly hold them away from himself. 

"Thank you, sir, but I'm not a lady…just woman trying to make a living."

"You are the queen of my heart and life, and thus a lady," came the sugar-sweet reply. "With these flowers I have something else to present to you. An invitation."

"To what?" asked Kristen hesitantly as Matt edged up beside her. 

"A ball, in honor of someone close to me," he replied gallantly. "Please say you'll allow me to escort you there?"

"Well, I…"

"She would be glad to," cut in Matt as he put his hand on Kristen's arm, kicking her in the ankle when she began to protest. "My friends and I shall do everything possible to make it so."

"Oh, this day hath been made wonderful by such a wonderful reply!" gushed the baron as he dropped into a low bow before he left. "My thanks, Lady Kristen! I shall see you again soon!!"

"You really are a jerk, you know that," ground Kristen through her teeth as she turned to face him, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt. "I'd start running if I were you…"

"Kristen, I…it was for the school!!"

"Yeah, and me pounding the life out of you is for the school too, because maybe then I'll be too tired to do it to HIM when I have to go with HIM to a freakin BALL!!"

"I'M SORRY!!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

The three students looked at each other from across the small chamber, their beings stripped of anything useful other than their clothes as they sat there, each chained to their respective wall. If they stretched, they could hold hands all at the same time, but the chamber had been proofed against any and all magics, thus making it impossible for them to escape at the moment.

"You're an idiot! A complete bastard who deserves to lose his head!" yelled Olivia as she threw her empty plate at him.

"OW!! Hey, I said I was sorry, alright?! What do you want me to do, I can't go back and change the past, you know!"

"WELL YOU SHOULD!!"

"WELL, I CAN'T!!"

"This is your fault entirely," spat Olivia one last time as she sat back down, the exhaustion of having little food and no place to really sleep getting to her again. "If I could just reach…you, you'd better be very glad for these chains, Randy. They're the only thing keeping you alive right now."

"I'm aware of that, thank you."

Bryanna said not a word, simply ran her hands over the manacles that covered her wrists again and again, fingering the locks thoughtfully. Reaching for her belt for the first time, she grimaced as she encountered the strip of cloth they'd replaced her leather one with. If only…if only…

"Food time," said the guard who'd been assigned to watch them constantly, sliding them each a pan of gruel with a crust of bread through a slot under their cell door. The food wasn't bad, in act it was quite good for prison food, but there was little of it and it only came twice a day. Water they had an unlimited supply of, courtesy of a bucket that was filled with more than they could take in in one day every morning. 

"No forks?" asked Bryanna lightly as she used her crust to spoon up the gruel lightly. "Or even spoons?"

"We'll see," said the guard with a shrug as he walked away and resumed his post outside the main door. 

"Mm…here." Bryanna finished her crust and slid the rest of her gruel over to Olivia, who'd plowed through hers in a matter of moments. "I'm not hungry."

"Liar," replied Olivia, though she accepted it anyways with a grateful nod. "You never did eat much, though, did you? Just like a Mouse…"

"Hey, only one person is allowed to call me that anymore and she's not here," came the mock retort. "Three more days…that's it."

"What do you think is going to happen to us?"

"I don't know." Bryanna blinked as she leaned back, coughing from the dust that got in her throat. "I wish I did, though."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

When Alyse woke again someone had placed her on her mount and they were riding out of the swamp, Revlis leading the way and Landon managing both his and her mount.

"What the…?"

"Oh, you're awake! Hold up, Rev, Alyse just decided to join the land of the living!"

"Ok, but just for a minute. We have a lot of ground to make up!"

"I know, I know…"

Alyse untied herself as she set herself properly in her saddle, rolling the ties back into their proper places for later. "Ok, explain to me what's going on, now."

"Revlis saved our buts, you've got a nice set of gouges running along your back you need to be careful with, and she's found the way out so we can get back on the main trail!"

"Good. Thanks, Revlis."

"No problem. You feeling well enough to scan?"

Alyse checked, then sighed as she shook her head. "I can't…still too tired."

"That's alright, I can sniff it out well enough…Landon, leave her alone and come get my horse for me. She tends to bolt if not held properly when I change…"

"Ok." Landon came over and took the reins, leaving Alyse to sort herself out alone real fast as Revlis dropped into a giant panther, roaming around for a moment before she paused, twitching her tail lightly. Following whatever it was she found for a moment, she paused then stood right back up into human form, shaking off the loss of energy that followed before remounting quickly. 

"Found it," she announced with a grin. "Come on, by the time we've closed some of the distance between us, Alyse should be well enough to scry and get us an exact spot. Hah!!" She kicked her horse into a gallop, the other two following as well as they thundered over the plains that now were before them, the swamp left far behind until it became nothing more than a memory.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Lavan tossed the dice idly from hand to hand, walking along the deck as Jack and a few others played cards nearby. Jack was losing, as usual, for he had no idea what he was doing once again and was in over his head.

"Here," said Lavan as he took his hand and shuffled it a bit, playing the next hand or two for him and getting him back on track. "Cards are for sissies anyways, it's all skill and no luck, but dice…dice is the game of men!"

"How do you play?" asked Jack suspiciously as Lavan began to juggle the die, weaving them in and out of his hands as if  by magic.

"Toss 'em on the deck, and hope for the best," replied the trader man with a wink. "That is, if you ain't chicken."

"I'm not scared, I'll beat you at your game of dice!" replied Jack heatedly, turning so he faced the young man instead. "I'll bid you a silver crescent I can beat you!"

"Alright, then..." They each pulled out their coin and put it on the deck, Lavan taking the dice and rolling them about his hands for a minute, weaving them in and out of his fingers before he finally tossed them on the deck. "I call a seven!" The dice rolled and danced about before they finally landed, on a three and a four. "Seven, ha! Beat that!"

"How do I?" asked Jack in confusion as he scratched his head.

"Call yours and roll 'em, if you get it right you get the coins, if you get it wrong they're mine."

"Oh...ok, then..." Jack picked up the dice and rolled them in the palm of his hands for a moment, thinking it through before he called, "Snake eyes." Tossing the dice on the deck, he watched as they rolled about, holding his breath as one landed on the one and the other did as well, slowly beginning to tip back towards the right...before the ship lurched and shook them back down into the double ones. "Ha! I won, man!"

"So you did, so you did...how about another round then? Double or nothing."

"Ok...you roll first."

"If you insist." Lavan did so, calling fives this time and landing it with a six, which consisted of a one and a five. Jack took up the dice confidently and called a four, rolling it to land his chosen number once again. Lavan fished out two more silver coins and handed them over, acting as if he were grumbling under his breath as Jack exalted in his good fortune. 

"Hahaha! Who's your daddy? Huh?? Who's your daddy now, you half-assed mo-fo?! Whow! Look at me now! Look at me now! Breakin' it down, breakin' it down! Uh huh, for real, my friend, for real!"

"Do you understand a word he's saying?" whispered Lavan as he edged closer to a few of the others, leaving Jack to go through his 'victory dance' on the deck of the ship.

"Never heard anything like it in my life...that guys just strange."

"Yeah, well, what do you expect? He's a trader from the north, and everyone knows traders from the north are more than a little crazy..."

"Right..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Briteyes paced the roof off the cottage, feeling hot and restless as she tried to piece together what was to happen next. She hadn't slept at all that night, the heat combined with the wash of memories and thoughts that was her mind overwhelming any hope of such a respite. Silven was curled up with Little Bear down in the main room, and was soundly asleep from the feel it whenever the elder girl reached out to her in her mind.

It had all started the first night she'd been there, with the four going up on the wall and the two watch towers exploding with the strange black dust they'd found. She'd been awake then too, but only because they'd woken her as they'd left the house. She was a very light sleeper, now, and had been wide awake by the time Tris had fully woken herself from her nightmare. 

Then, the next morning had come the sighting of the pirate vessel by Daja, and while she and her teacher Frostpine were out collecting the broken bits of their protective net. And Tris and Niko piecing together with their time-spell what had happened the night before, plus Tris's new charge, Shriek. Not that she was terribly worried about the pirate ship, or the bird, as soon as she reached far enough back in her memories she figured she'd be able to handle this.

What bugged her the most was this Amery fellow. She'd been down among the other adults when he'd come in and noted his look of surprise when she'd numbered herself among the other adult mages there during the introductions. Likely he'd never seen a performer mage before, and had been uneasy about her scars as well, but that wasn't that bothered her. It was this feeling of...dissonance about him. Like his words, and the truth between his trip here weren't the same. When the word came that the scrying mirrors and crystals had all broke into shards, she'd watched him carefully but he'd done very well to hide his trail. His hands shook...but that was the only sign that he'd possibly done anything at all. Perhaps he had...or hadn't. If only she could remember!

Sitting down, she picked up her lute and began to play through a familiar melody, one she'd listened to more than once while she read...there! It was Tris's Book that she'd reached within the timeline here, and it was mainly of pirates. The sighting of the ships, the young bird, the coming of Amery...it all fell into place. Pursing her lips, the performer quickly opened the hatch to the attic and silently jumped down to the floor below. Dropping her lute and grabbing her panpipes, she slipped on her hood as fast as she could as she silently slipped down the ladder from the attic to the second floor of the cottage. 

Any moment now...there! She stepped into the light just as the young weather witch came stumbling out of her room, jamming on her glasses and trying to force her untamable curls into submission.

"What do you want?" asked Tris as she saw her standing there, almost expectantly.

"You feel it, don't you?" asked Briteyes as she indicated towards the sea with her right hand.

Tris paused, then nodded. "Are you coming, too?"

"Yeah."

"...fine."

They both silently made their way downstairs, bringing Little Bear and Silven along as they woke the pair accidentally. To the wall they went, Briteyes waiting with the two animals as Tris stood there with her arms outstretched and fell into an easy trance, racing away with the winds that were so familiar with her. If she noticed Briteyes linking in to her winds with her panpipes, she didn't indicate so and simply sped towards the storm off in the distance. 

Listening to it carefully as she played her melodies over and over again, teasing them up and down the scales like playful tufts of winds, Briteyes felt her tones ringing back at her from what she probed in the most unusual ways. They were twisted by magic...a hidden one that did not wish to be found. Breaking herself free just as the younger girl did, she saw Little Bear had left his spot at her feet and was barking furiously. 

"You again...look, you shouldn't be here!" It was a the tall, thin guard from the night before, his partner beside him holding a crossbow in one hand and a yapping Little Bear in the other. Tonight, they were dressed in battle armor, though. "No visitors allowed, and can't you get your dog to shut up?"

"No," said Tris flatly as she pointed out at the storm. "Does that look normal to you?"

"It's a storm," replied the guard with a shrug. "We could use the rain..."

"The only rain that storm will bring is a rain of blood," cut in Briteyes as she glanced down at the younger mage girl. "It's so laden with magic I can hardly get the ring of it out of my ears..."

"Normal storm clouds go up for miles," added Tris quickly. "That's not even high enough to count as an afternoon squall."

The guards traded looks, Briteyes rolling her eyes and Tris humphed impatiently, winds beginning to tug at the clothes. Laying a hand on the younger girl's shoulder, the performer narrowed her eyes and cast back her hood.

"Go get your Captain, now," she said flatly as she drew herself up and used the force of her fighter's magic to impress them so they'd obey without anymore fight. "He needs to see this immediately!"

"...I'll go him," offered one of the two, running to the tower nearest to that point as his partner let Little Bear go and the dog came and sat at Tris's feet obediently after a stern order or two from Silven. He came back with a short, thick man with black skin that had a metal tube with him. Holding it to his eyes, he scanned the seas for a few moments before pulling it down slowly with a troubled look on his face.

"That's no storm," he muttered darkly. "These two are right, go send a runner for the Warrior Mages! You..." He glanced at the pair.

"Tris," supplied the younger girl when she realized what he was waiting for. 

"Briteyes," added the performer quickly.

"Good work. Now take your dog and get back to bed, we'll have the Senior Mages take a look at this as soon as they can."

Tris nodded and glanced at Briteyes, who motioned for her to go first down the stairs. 

"What did you do back there?" asked Tris as they walked along, barely able to make out the grounds around them in the few hours before dawn. "I felt it, it was like a push of sorts...but it wasn't wind."

"Oh...that." Briteyes considered her options, then just winked with a shrug. "Just a technique of mine."

Tris sighed as she rolled her eyes, yanking off her glasses to clean them with a cloth. "Could you get any more vauge...?"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Rupal sighed as she tried to figure out just exactly where she could scrape some more funds and push it into their food funds and payments for taxes that would come in soon. They were barely making it by the skin of their teeth, literally. She didn't have a copper to spare anywhere. 

The amount she'd set aside for feeding the few animals they had left was less than they actually needed, and Jem would probably be spending a great deal of his time running back and forth with getting armloads of grass from the fields and such to feed the poor beasts...there was no other way in that situation.

For clothes and fuel...well, she'd closed that account completely. New clothes would have to wait for after the next spring harvest, when they'd be able to pull through again. Fuel would have to come from Cheeks, they couldn't afford to go and pay Master Richard's boy even half a copper to haul wood for them from the woods so Cheeks would be free for other work, the young man would just have to find time for both. 

Their surplus and emergencies supply was completely gone. She wasn't quite sure, but somewhere between the need of more seed when they found out the stores from last year were worthless and the panic after the quakes it had disappeared. Probably into their mouths and down in their bellies, but she didn't think they'd used that much...had they?

"Kaitlin?" she called as she noticed the resident cook slinking down the hallway, a sneaky look on her face as she reached for the door to Cheeks' bedroom. 

"Ah! I didn't do it, I-....oh, it's just you. Hey, Rupal. Give me a sec here, I'm trying to scare Cheeks..."

"Leave them alone and come here," replied Rupal quickly. "You can bug them later, ok?"

"Oh, alright...I guess so if you insist..." Kaitlin came in and sat down across from her pertly. "What'cha need, deary?"

"Well, as you know we're not doing too well as far as money goes right now," started Rupal carefully.

"Uh huh, we've been tightening down on things since, what, May?" replied Kaitlin quickly.

"Somewhere around there," admitted Rupal. "But that's not the point. Things are getting worse, and we need a way to augment our income somehow..."

"WHOA!! Hold it RIGHT there!" cried Kaitlin as she jumped up, looking around like she expected someone to jump from out behind the walls and grab her. "I am NOT being sold into some whore-slavery thing, you got that?! NO! Or worse, start selling myself in town just so you can eat...imagine what they'd do to this poor, virgin body of mine! OH THE INHUMANITY!!! That mine family hath sunk so LOW as to DO something like that to little old ME....*sniffles*..."

"...uh, Kaitlin?"

Kaitlin paused in a theatrical pose, looking at Rupal quizzically. "What? You're interrupting my big moment here! If you're going to sell me, at least let me have this much..."

"We're not selling you, Kaitlin," cut in Rupal quickly with a tired grin. "What in the world gave you THAT idea?"

"..dunno." She shrugged, sitting back down once more. "What do you need me for then?"

"Mainly, help with keeping food costs down," replied Rupal. "Stretch everything as long as you can get it to go. As long as it's still edible, it stays. We can't just throw food out anymore because it's a day old. We keep doing that, and we won't last past the new year."

"Ouch...well, I guess I could cut back on how much I cook."

"Thank you."

"Welcome!" Kaitlin stood back up, then gave Rupal a suspicious look. "Are you SURE you're not going to sell me into slavery...?"

"Yes, Kaitlin, I'm sure," came the flat reply.

"Ok, just making sure! Tootles!"

"Yeah, bye..." Rupal leaned forward and rested her head on the desk, willing the headache that was forming behind her eyes to go away. "These people are so weird."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Kristen shrugged her shoulders as her student frowned in worry. "Don't lose sleep over this, ok?" she said firmly as she rolled her eyes. "No one is going to come carry me off in the middle of the night and slaughter me for having a good business is defensive arts..."

"But the rumors have been around for a few days now, Miss," the young boy argued quickly. "And anything that manages to catch me dam's ear more than once is likely to be either true or something that shouldn't be ignored...at least promise you'll be more careful!"

"Careful doing what?" replied Kristen with a derisive snort. "Getting up, going to the kitchen, eating, doing my job, eating again, and then going to bed again? I rarely leave the school grounds, Dirk, and when I do there's always at least one other person with you. You have nothing to fear for me, I'll be fine."

"Stop nattering the poor woman's ear off and let's be gone," said Dirk's father as he came up beside him and gave him a light cuff on the side of his head for dawdling. "My apologies, Miss. He lets his mouth get away from him sometimes..."

"No harm done," replied Kristen with a shrug and a wry grin. "If it makes you feel better, Dirk, I will be more careful, ok?"

"Well, alright. Good day, Miss."

"Good day."

"You know, I heard the same from one of my students too," commented Matt as he came up and stood behind her, crossing his arms over his chest. "Someone's spreading some nasty rumors about our school, and the 'harlot' that runs it..."

"They can call me whatever they like, they can prove nothing," replied Kristen flatly as she picked up some dropped training pads that she used so the younger ones didn't hurt each other. "Harlot, strumpet, whore...with who? You guys? Yeah right, I'd rather peal the flesh away from my own bones and feed it to rabid dogs by hand!"

"Gee, thanks," muttered Matt as he rolled his eyes. "Still, there's no harm in taking a few extra precautions. Just don't go anywhere unarmed, carry a belt knife or something. And always have one of us with you. Even Cam's pretty useful in a fight, though he always apologies for the damage he does afterwards, the pansy...OW!!"

Kristen glared at him as she held the pad poised to knock him over the head again should she need to. "Just because he's got a good heart does not make him a pansy!"

"Alright, alright, he's not a pansy....just a wuss. OWW!! Hey, knock that off!!"

"Not until you apologize!"

"I don't want to!"

*TWHAP*

"OWWIES!!!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Bryanna made sure no one was watching as she carefully examined the tray, holding it up to the feeble light until she found the crack she was looking for. Checking one last time, she aimed once and whacked it as hard as she could against the bars of the cage. 

*CRACK*

"What was that?!" demanded the guard as Bryanna tossed the tray towards Olivia, the other two giving her strange looks as she hid the broken handle of the tray in her sleeve.

"I threw it, and it missed," replied Bryanna sheepishly. "Sorry..."

"Good gods above...watch what you're doing!" snapped the guard, turning to go back to his post. "Mages with not a wit a sense in their thick heads..."

"Yes, sir..."

"What did you do that for, you almost got us in trouble!" hissed Randy as Olivia just watched her, noting the movements she made as she began to tinker with the locks again. 

"Moron, shut up and leave her alone," Olivia snapped in reply, nodding to Bryanna who glanced up once before continuing her work. Waiting until the sun had fully set and the moon was well on its way in the sky, she slipped off her shackles and went to Olivia's side.

"Hold still," she murmured softly, taking the locks and looking over them before she inserted the slip of metal she'd gotten off the tray and began to wiggle it around carefully. 

"You're picking the locks," breathed Olivia as her hands suddenly came free, and she was able to hold up her arms without the added weight for the first time in days. "We're going to get out of here...!!"

"They spelled this place against magic," murmured Bryanna with a grin as she freed the ice mage's legs. "But not against picks. What mage knows how to pick locks, anyways?"

"You, apparently," replied Randy as he held out his hands and she freed him as she'd done for Olivia and herself. "Was this something you picked up from your time among the thieves?"

"Yeah...guess it came in handy."

Greasing the hinges with Bryanna's share of gruel from dinner, they silently slipped out of the cell the moment she had the lock open and down the corridor, sneaking up behind the guard who stood there on watch. Only a thread of ice was all it took to seal his mouth shut and hands and feet to the wall behind him. Leaving him there, they ignored his muffled cries and went on to the next door down the hall. Slipping inside, they grabbed what they could from the supplies kept there before boosting each other out of the window to the ground below in the main courtyard of the prison.

Using the slim strip of metal, Bryanna picked open the back gate and out they went, into the town itself where they quickly lost themselves in the crowds before reaching the edge of town and leaving it all together.

"Where to now?" asked Randy as they set out, planning to travel until their feet gave out from underneath them and they were forced to stop and rest.

"I don't know," replied Bryanna as she glanced back over her shoulder, shuddering involuntarily. "It'll be someplace far, far away from here, though."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

The trio of unmagic mages paused at an Inn, Revlis looking about nervously as they sat down and ordered their food, planning on leaving the moment they'd had a good, hot meal and their horses were well-rested again.

"Something wrong?" asked Landon as he poked Revlis and she jumped skittishly, swearing at him under her breath as she tried to calm herself again afterwards. "You've been as jumpy as a frog."

"Nothing's wrong, exactly," came the stumbling reply. "Eh, it's nothing, really, probably just a figment of my imagination..."

"Unmagic?" asked Alyse quietly. 

"No, nothing like that," came the firm reply. "Don't worry about it, I'm just over-reacting again..."

"Well, if it isn't our good friend, the cat-woman," sneered a large fellow as he came lumbering up with two of his pals, displaying their weapons fearlessly as they leered at them rotten teeth and ran hands through their greasy hair. "So nice of you to return, too...we thought you'd run away for good."

"I don't want anything to do with you, Lars," said Revlis roughly as she turned closer to Alyse, whom she was seated besides. "I owe you nothing."

"Oh, yes you do, kittycat. You owe me a good screw, according to your late partner, and perhaps some more for my pals in way of interest..." 

Alyse moved faster than any of them could see, pressing one fan to the man's throat and the other farther south into some territory that he didn't want damaged at the moment. "Back away," she growled, pressing the sharp edges a little closer. "Or I geld you like a horse."

"Now, now, missy, no need to go jumping around like that...I was just trying to collect on a debt..." Lars backed off a step, obviously displeased. "She still owes me, Miss. And I will get my dues."

"Your dues will be a ruined manhood if you don't leave right now," came the calm reply. "I'm not going to put up with you, understand?"

"..aye. I understand." The man turned around and left, heading over to the far corner where several others like him resided. 

"Get your things, we're leaving," snapped the fan-wielder suddenly, tossing her cloak over her shoulders and heading for the stables as quickly as she could.

"Wait, we didn't eat yet..."

"They're not going to let us eat in peace, Landon," replied Revlis in a low voice as she scrambled out the door after Alyse. "Not after they know that I'm here."

"Do I want to know what this debt of yours is?" asked Alyse as she re-saddled her horse, flipping the groom a copper before helping Landon who struggled with the bridle. 

"Let's just say it involves freeing a friend of mine who was caught in a loop of slavery-debts and the cheat we used to secure our 'win' didn't work...so we ran."

"Ah..."

"Ready?" asked Alyse as she mounted easily, hiding her amusement as Landon struggled into the saddle. 

"Eh...getting there...ready!"

"Where'd the cat-wench go?"

"Towards the stables, says the barmaid!"

"That's our cue to get out of here," said Revlis as she turned her horse around, kicking it into a tired gallop that rocketed her and her two friends out of town. "Later, losers!"

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Trevor stood at the edge of the platform, waiting for Talia who was throwing on her boots as quickly as she could. List in hand, and coins in his belt, he was ready to go restock the ship. 

"Can I go?" asked Nicole as she flew up, a hopeful look on her face. "Please, please, please??"

"Sure, I guess," replied Trevor with a grin. "I don't mind."

"She can't," said Jack suddenly as he walked by, the usual smirk on his face. "Cap'n Jenny said she's gotta stay and help us unload the stuff to the dock, man."

"When did she say that?!" demanded Nicole angrily as she whirled up right in Jack's face, making his go cross eyed as he tried to focus on her enough to get a good shot with his hand.

"Right now," replied Jenny as she came striding up, calling to the others to be careful with the boxes below. Tanner transferred the message so others could hear, adding some colorful language whenever he thought necessary. "Come on, everyone else is hauling crates except these two, and we need you to help those who can't carry boxes on their own."

"But, I wanted to-"

"No buts. Go, now."

"...yes ma'am." Nicole pouted as she floated below deck, seeing Gwen who was waiting for her expectantly. 

"Come on, my mini-friend!" she called cheerfully, Nicole just muttering in reply as she twisted a few winds together into a net and scooped it under the crate with ease. Picking it up, she let Gwen guide it along as she just followed and held it up off the ground a few feet, her companion pushing it along and telling her where to set it down among the others that were taken off the ship.

"This isn't fair," muttered Nicole for the sixth time as she lifted a box and helped Gwen get it to the surface once again. "I should be allowed to go with Trevor! I'm not just a regular crew member, you know! I'm a...a nymph!"

"Uh huh, right. You keep saying that, oh queen of the minis and maybe someday it will come true."

"Hey!!"

"What?? I didn't say nothing... *cough*you're tiny*cough*."

"Why you little...!"

"Actually, compared to you, I'm rather big. Huge, in fact. A couple hundred, if not thousand, times you."

"Gwen!!"

"What, I'm just stating the facts, here. You're the one that's little, not me."

"Why I aughta..."

"Attempt to hit me? With what, a puff of air? Come on, minislut, bring it on!"

"ARGH!!"

Nicole lifted up the box and took it with her, leaving Gwen standing there to watch as she centered it over Jack's head and let it fall, nodding in satisfaction as it knocked him out instantly with a pleasant *CRACK*. 

"Boxes from the sky....mommy...there's boxes comin' from the sky..." x.x;;

"I feel so much better now!!" ^_^

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Briteyes waited patiently. So far, her part in this had been minimal. The pirates had attacked a few days ago, starting their barrage on the wall of Summer Sea from the ocean with their boom-stones. She'd been put in charge of the children while the Senior Mages went to the wall -except Frostpine, he'd been asleep- and had been roundly yelled at for letting the children break into the 'pattern spell' as they had. Never mind that she couldn't speak mind-to-mind as they could...according to Niko, at that point in time, it was her fault.

Amery was still around, and she hated every moment of it. She knew who, and what he was, just another pawn of the pirates. But she could say nothing, prove nothing...things would have to run their course as they would, and she would intercede as she could. She'd already played Tris to sleep without the young girl realizing it that night...the poor thing needed all the sleep she could get after being told the truth about her cousin by one inquisitive Briar. 

The Hub clock tolled midnight as the performer slipped off the roof and dropped lightly to the ground by sliding down a drain. Creeping back around through Rosethorn's workshop, she watched as Amery slipped out one of the doors into the thick fog that lay everywhere, Tris and Briar arriving a moment later.

"Psst." 

They both whirled around, surprised to see her standing there, not in her normal clothes and with a thick staff over one shoulder with the end of it swaddled in cloth. "Briteyes...?" breathed Briar, poised to attack.

"Yeah." She stepped closer, giving them both a long look. "Follow him, I'll be behind you."

Tris frowned. "But, you..."

"Hush." Briteyes motioned after Amery, a grim look on her face. "You're not going to let me go after him alone, so come on before he gets away." Briar gave her a strange look, but turned to Tris and tugged on her sleeve none the less to pull her along.

[They're scared] said Silven from where she sat in Briteyes' hood. [What do you want me to do?]

"Stay with them," she said as softly as she could. "After it starts, don't leave their side and call me if you need to."

[Roger.]

They trailed him around the temple and the baths. There, in front of the temple porch Tris stumbled. It was a curled up novice using his armor as a pillow. Briar tripped as well, his obstacle being a guard that lay flat on his back snoring. Shaking the man, he looked at Briteyes, who grimaced. She'd forgotten about the sleeping poisons, and Briar was probably making the connection at that moment. 

Tris suddenly did something to the air, the fog slamming itself upwards and forward in a way that cleared the area immediately of fog and sent Amery forwards to hit the temple gate he'd stopped in front of. 

Stomping up to him, eyes flashing, she cried, "Amery!"

Seeing Briar duck behind a tree, Briteyes followed him and stayed to the shadows, glad she'd worn the gray leathers she'd found in one of her old packs of clothes from before. They listened as Tris confronted her cousin, Silven climbing from her friend's shoulder to Briar's as the truth came out, that he was a traitor and he was helping the pirates get in to pay a debt.

One locking bar was up now, and one remained. Someone outside the gate pounded on it angrily.

Briar stood up, and was stopped as Briteyes shoved him to the ground, running for the gate. "Tris, get away from him!" The mage looked up at her, determination in his eyes as he punched his younger cousin, sending her back several feet. Tris lay where she fell, stunned.

The gate exploded, and Amery went flying past Briteyes who pulled out her panpipes and twitted some melody that countered the blast right around her. Briar, thankfully, scouted himself up in the tree he'd been crouched behind, leaving him relatively safe for the moment.

Men and women rushed in through the whole the blast had created, holding clothes over their mouths and noses in one hand and knives and swords in the other. The performer shook herself as she dashed into the light, leaving the cloth covering behind as she brought her pole arm up in an arch that caught the light as well as the first person coming through towards her. His body ripped open from his hip to his shoulder, he fell silently as the rest around them stopped and stared.

They hadn't expected any resistance, and now one of theirs were dead.

The leader freed his blade from Amery's body right then, glancing at Briteyes as if she were no more than a gnat. "Kill her," he orders calmly. "And the rest of those here! We don't want them at our backs later..."

Breathing deep, the performer clenched her jaw as she threw herself into them, actually planting the pole arm into the ground at one point and springing herself on top of it so she was holding it with her feet above her head and bringing it up with her a moment later to slam it down perpendicular on three pirates' heads at once. Dodging, ducking, moving faster than she could even keep track of, she hardly saw those she struck out at, it was just a constant whirl of life or death, block or be spitted upon another's blade, cut their throat or have to worry about them later.

She couldn't block them all, though, and soon others rushed past her to stab the dedicates who lay asleep on the ground. Screaming in rage and anguish, she fought all the harder, but they were still beyond her reach and she couldn't stop them being forced to stay put like this...

A crack of lightening suddenly lit the sky, hail falling from the sky in sheets that battered the pirates to the ground. Shielding her head, the performer staggered under the weight and scrambled away, shaking her head dizzily as she tried to regain her footing.

[BRITEYES!!]

"I'm fine..." she mumbled as she blinked the stars back from her eyes, forcing herself to stand still as she took up her stance again. A few of the pirates began to rise, one suddenly landing at her feet. Stepping on his chest immediately, she raised her pole arm to rid themselves of him as she already had others...

"Briteyes, STOP!!"

Her arms froze over her head as a light as bright as day filled the area, leaving no shadow where mischief could be done away from others' eyes. The pirates were quickly subdued by their weapons being jerked from their hands and pants and shirts winding themselves together into bonds. Moments of panic followed, and then it was over.

"Let him go, Brite," said softly Lark as she came up behind her friend, putting a hand on her shoulder and gently pulling her away as two novices woken by the rail of hail came and disarmed the man quickly. "It's over."

Briteyes turned and looked at her, blood dripping from the corner of her right eye where the scar had burst and left a scarlet trail down her face. "I know..." she breathed, lowering her weapon as she stepped away. "I...I'm sorry...."

"Shh...just relax. It's over now." Briteyes looked over at Tris who lay sobbing over her dead cousin, pointing a finger at the body.

"It was his fault...his fault it happened...he deserved to die..." 

"Hush, now," said Lark more firmly, pulling the weapon from Briteyes' grasp and laying it aside as the young woman just stood there, looking over the dead bodies of Dedicates and Pirates alike. "Come...the guard's going to want to speak with you."

The performer nodded absently, allowing herself to be led away as a groggy Moonstream and Skyfire were dragged from their beds, and listened to the account she, and then the four young mages had to give. Her bleeding scar, along with the other scratches and scrapes she'd gotten, tended for, she stumbled into Discipline cottage and fell asleep in a chair downstairs just as the Hub clock rang twice in the early morning hours. 

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Ok....so the whole thing didn't turn out quite as I thought it would. Such is life. Hope you liked it, please REVIEW!!!!! Please, please, please? It makes me hate my computer less, an then I write more, ne? ^_~

~CB~


	16. 

Chapter 16. There has been another delay, I know. You don't have to remind me, ok? I blame it on the Love Hina Muse given to me by one Amy... *gives her a glare/grateful grin* The little Mini-Motoko is just so cute sitting in front of my computer one cannot help but write about her and her crazy friends...then again, Kaitlin has been known to have much the same effect, thus here is this chapter. ^_^ Enjoy!

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Chris carefully placed the planks of oak to the side of his worktable, selecting one and having Cam mark off the measurements as he called them out with a carbon stick. Taking it from him, he left the younger boy to mark the rest of the boards as he carried it over to another table, sawing it down to the right size and sanding off the edges and sides with dried strips of sharkskin. 

Finally getting it smooth enough for his satisfaction, he began to bore holes along the edges, creating pegs the same size by paring down ones he already had made. Another board was marked and cut, sanded when it was to the right size with holds put in this one as well, though in a different manner. 

Using the pine resin he'd left heating over the stove in one corner of the small shop (it was made entirely of iron with a special set of flues so sparks wouldn't escape and set fire to the place) he quickly put the boards together and pounded the pegs into their proper place with a few deft strokes of his hammer. A liberal smattering of the resin before he'd put them in their holes insured they wouldn't be coming back out easily any time soon, the joint as firm as any carpenter could want.

"Can I help?" asked Cam as he finished marking off the boards, coming over to stand beside Chris.

"Yeah, you should learn how to do something besides swing your fists to earn a living," replied Chris teasingly, picking up some sharkskin and showing him to hold it properly so he didn't rub his hands raw with it. "Now, use it like that to smooth all the rough spots off the wood...yeah, like that. Keep going, and I'll check on you when I think you're done."

Cam frowned as he concentrated on the task set before him, rubbing the wooden plank with the toughened hide as best as his skinny little arms could. Working over the surface inch by inch, he was finished before Chris had completed the drilling of more holes and joined another sanded and cut plank to the original two. 

"What are we making?" he asked curiously as he went around the shop and inspected some other half-finished orders. Some over-stuffed chairs, a table for six with a leaf in the middle that could be removed, several plain chairs, a couple of shelves with scrolls carved into them...not to mention stacks of wood of every size, shape, and kind that might be useful. 

"Cabinets, for our house," replied Chris with a grunt as he took the board Cam had finished and inspected it quickly. "Not bad...start on the others there. The sooner we finish, the sooner I can get them installed, and then we get to go and enjoy a nice meal by our resident lazy-butt chef."

"Yeah, Jon doesn't do much but he can cook," admitted Cam with a wry smile and a shrug. He picked up the skins again and took another plank that was marked and cut, beginning the sanding process once again. "Though he can't make bread, we have to buy that from the baker down the street every week."

"Nobody's perfect," replied Chris lightly. "I can carve and create furniture, but I can't tan the hides, nor tell one from another, when I use them for pads in the seats. I have to go to the leather-dealer for that."

"Kinda like Kristen can fight, but she doesn't know how to make the weapons she and Mike and Matt fight with?"

"Yeah, sure. Something like that."

"Oh."

"You ready with that board?"

"Already got it done."

"Bring it over, then!"

The day flew by, noon coming and going as the cabinets were assembled and then sanded once again, a coat of varnish put over them to set before they brought them back home. Borrowing a neighboring workshop's cart, they pulled them back to the house and up the lane, unloading it in the front of the hall before Cam ran the cart back to its original owner as quickly as possible. 

Kristen met them in the front hall, a surprised look on her face. "You're done already?"

"Yeah," replied Chris with a grin. "I just kept it down to the basics. You know, no decorative touches, one coat of varnish, plain peg handles..."

"I'm not even going to pretend I understand everything that goes into making it," cut in Kristen with a shrug. "As long as it'll work, I couldn't care if it were red with pink dots." 

"Are you sure, because that could be arranged..."

"NO." Chris laughed as Kristen gave him a cold glare, ignoring her entirely in his glee.

"Come on, let's go get this done before she decides to kill me or something," chuckled the huge Trader as he led the way with the cabinets over his shoulders, Cam following trying to hide his smile from the wrathful Kristen.

"Ok!"

"Bloody Traders," she muttered under her breath, turning back towards the kitchen where she was attempting to get dinner started. From the burning noodles on the stove, and the undercooked meat she pulled from the oven, it wasn't going well, though...

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Briteyes slumped over the table in cottage's kitchen, Rosethorn sticking her head out of her room a moment later to see who it was. This being an hour before dawn, she had been up most of the night with the healers, doing her best to play those who had been burned beyond the healer's help to sleep so at least they'd have that respite in their final hours. The latest victims were those who'd been in the Water Temple when the boomstone had landed in the carpenter's workshops there and had set all ablaze within seconds of exploding.

"Are you alright?" asked the exhausted dedicate as she sat across from the performer, touching her limp hands hesitantly.

"I'm fine," came the ragged reply. "I'm fine, I'm still alive you know. Even after facing down pirates, I'm still here, it's the others that aren't alright, the ones that aren't alive anymore...so much blood..."

"Shhh..." Rosethorn awkwardly patted her hands before rising slowly and setting some water to boil for tea. "Did you sleep at all?"

"No," replied Briteyes with a short shake of her head. "Don't give me anything that'll do that, though. I can't afford to right now. Not with tomorrow..." Seeing the puzzled look the elder Dedicate gave her, she waved absently and added, "Just a feeling I have, really...you're going to need every person you've got defending the walls. I may not be a certified Master here, but I will be of help..."

"You're going to kill yourself if you keep that up for more than a day or so," admonished Rosethorn quietly as she set out two cups and skillfully brewed the tea. 

"We aren't going to last that long if things go beyond a day or more," replied Briteyes grimly. Meeting the plant mage's eyes, she frowned and ran a finger absently along her thin scar from the bottom of her eye to her chin. "You know I'm right, too."

"We're going to try and get the children out," admitted Rosethorn hesitantly. "Moonstream and Skyfire are coming in the morning, and after we Masters have discussed some things, we're going to talk them into going with the wounded. I don't want them to leave us now, but with everything that's happening here it is the last place they should be. I was wondering, though..."

"What is it?" she asked, looking up curiously.

"This isn't your home, and you shouldn't give your life defending it," said Rosethorn bluntly. "I want you to go with the children when they leave. At least that way, if something happens...I know you'd take care of them for us, Brite. And they respect you enough to follow you, even if we adults are no longer around. You wouldn't have to stay with them forever, either, just until they reach the next temple so they could find themselves some new teachers. Will you at least consider it?"

"Perhaps..." Briteyes grinned tiredly and accepted the mug that was slid over to her, sitting up to sip it carefully before picking up her lute once more and tuning it carefully. The hours passed quickly as their words turned from the pirates to the students themselves, and their progress as mages and young people in general. As planned, Moonstream and Skyfire appeared, and the children were shooed upstairs, Briteyes excusing herself from the house and heading for the healers once more. 

She was of little use on the wall itself, her magics didn't involve that of battles and attacks unless done with a hand-used weapon, and everything at the moment was still flinging whatever they could at each other in hopes of hitting a weak spot and making their opponent fall. 

"You're back," said Henna, a Water Dedicate who'd luckily been away from the temple when the boomstone had struck and also had one of the larger healing gifts. She gave Briteyes a scolding look, though she let her in none the less. "I thought I told you to go sleep."

"I can't," replied Briteyes simply with a shrug as she took out her lute and tuned it quickly. "How many more did we lose while I was gone?"

"The Carpenter Master's Journeyman, and two more Apprentices," replied Henna, her face falling with a sigh. "Poor lads...perhaps it was best this way, though. Ingi would've been without his sight for the rest of his life, and I don't know if he would have managed that way. He always was a sensitive one." She glanced up at Briteyes, who just blinked back the tears that threatened to flow and busied herself with her lute. "I thank you, player, for your time. Many have been soothed by your skillful works..."

"I had to do something," came the short reply, Briteyes setting herself up in the same corner she'd taken the day before, preparing herself to fall into a light trance from which she could work for hours on end. And so she did.

The pirates attacked, and fell before the four young mages, the Duke's Navy appearing when it was over to clean up the mess that had been made. All this passed in the six hours Briteyes remained in the infirmary, and even though she was exhausted upon her return, it pleased her more than anything else that they were fine and alive, and all had passed as it had in the books. For a day she slept, then rose the next night, dressing herself and packing her things once more. It was well past time for her to leave.

Leaving a note for Rosethorn and Lark, she slipped out to the front room, standing there for a moment to secure her mask in place and slip her hood on.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" asked Tris as she suddenly stumbled from the shadows, clutching her blanket around herself. 

"Yes, I am," replied Briteyes quietly with a slow nod. "It's time for me to move on again, I can't leach off the Dedicate's good will forever. I'll be back, I promise, but...I need to find my own way again."

"Briar's gonna be mad at you, you promised you teach him how to flip a knife like you do. And Sandry'll be sad you left without saying goodbye, and so will Daja," pointed out the weather mage softly, blinking owlishly as she held onto the edge of the table for support. She was still exhausted from the day before. "And Rosethorn's gonna have a fit..."

"I know," replied Briteyes with a slight grin. "But they'll forgive me when I return, they always do. You'll tell them I'll be back, won't you?"

"I suppose." Tris shuffled her feet slightly, adjusting her glasses out of habit. "Would you...play for me? Uh...please?"

"You can't sleep?" asked Briteyes kindly. When she got a short nod in reply, she led the younger girl into the side room and settled her in a chair. Plucking her strings lightly, she sang to her in a language the girl had never heard before, yet it seemed to envelope her completely in its soft melodies and rocked her to sleep.

_Win dain a lotica_

_En val tu ri_

_Si lo ta_

_Fin dein a loluca_

_En dragu a sei lain_

_Vi fa-ru les shutai am_

_En riga-lint..._

_En riga-lint..._

_En riga-lint_

Rising, she pulled a blanket over the sleeping girl and slipped out into the night with a calmness that came with that song. Checking on Silven, who'd been sound asleep in her hood the whole time, she sang her way past the guards and to the road beyond without being stopped. The words themselves meant very little, but the feel of it...more now that ever, she was glad the majority of her magic focused on music and not fighting, for it was giving her a chance to heal rather than hurt, something she needed to do to atone for the many past deaths she'd caused.

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Revlis sat by herself in the common room of the Inn they'd stopped at for the night, Landon appearing from the stairs with his hair still wet and Alyse probably taking his place in the bath that had been prepared for them. "How's the food?" asked Landon as he sat down, stretching tiredly as she automatically waved for a server to come by the table. 

"Decent," she replied as she took out a few more coppers from her belt purse, giving them to the young girl who came with another order for a house special. "Could be worse, though not the best we've seen."

"Hmm...that's alright. I do have a craving for a fresh baked catfish, with some fried chips to go with it, but I'm not likely to find that anywhere around here..."

"Keep it down, I'm trying to listen," growled the cat-girl, raising her hood so she could modify her ears without attracting attention to them. 

"...listen to what?"

"Just shut your trap!"

"Ok, ok..."

Landon sighed and accepted the plate of food when it came, eating slowly and nodding at Alyse when she appeared from the stairs as well, hair bound up on top of her head to it wouldn't soak her collar while it was still wet. The two girls exchanged looks, and Alyse nodded as if she understood, getting her food herself and sitting stiffly without saying a word. Her scratches along her back were not quite healed yet and caused her some trouble at times, but she managed well enough regardless 

Right after Alyse had received her meal of stewed beef and potatoes with a slab of hard bread spread with grease Revlis pulled back her hood and sighed, frowning as she picked up her tankard and took a sip. 

"Ok, now will you tell me what you were listening to?" asked Landon in annoyance as he shoved his empty plate to the side and sat back awaiting her answer.

"It wouldn't have taken so long if you'd just obeyed me to begin with," pointed out Revlis, sticking her tongue out at him. "Anyways, there's some local gossip going around that's rather interesting...and I think it might help us out to?"

"What is it?" asked Alyse calmly, ignoring Landon as he just snorted and ordered another beer for himself. "Something about our mage?"

"Not our mage, necessarily, but there are some patched rumors of a meeting of several 'dark mages' in a spot nearby," replied Revlis, blocking her lips out of habit with her mug so if any lip readers were present they couldn't tell what she was saying. "If a 'dark mage' is the local term of an unmagic user, then we'll not only possibly have our guy we'll have several others we can 'rid ourselves of' at the same time."

"Can you sense any other unmagic sources around here?" asked Landon as he glanced at Alyse out of the corner of his eye.

"I haven't been looking for any others besides our main guy since we got through the swamp, and I'm sure we've missed a few because of it," replied Alyse with a shrug. "I'm not going to try it tonight, as low as my body is right now, but in the morning I think it could be done..."

"Alright then, we scan in the morning, if we find anything of interest we'll give it a quick check, and if it's not relevant or needs to be taken of right away, we keep right on going," offered Revlis as she rose to her feet, having been finished long ago and ready to sleep. "I'll see you then, night."

"Night."

"Yeah, sleep tight..." Landon scratched his head as Alyse finished mopping up the last of her stew with the bread, swallowing a bit more of the ale to wash it down with. "Do you think we'll find anything, Alyse?"

"Don't know," she admitted with a shrug. "I guess we'll find out in the morning, won't we?"

"Yeah, I guess so..."

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Talia sat in the middle of the other instrumentalists on the deck of the ship, playing away on her drums as Ma Tegan set the pace with her fingers springing up and down the neck of her three-stringed instrument with the grace of a lithe child. Most of the crew danced close by, feet thumping and hands clapping in time to the music. The steps were simple, and so easy a child could memorize them, so all participated in them. All but Nicole and Trevor, that was, for one had the curse of being to tiny and the other having two left feet.

"At least you could dance if you wanted," pointed out Nicole as she perched herself on Trev's shoulder, watching from the side as usual. "I couldn't join the dance if my life depended on it, I'd get trampled."

"Can you do the dance?" asked Trevor with a shrug.

"Yeah, or something like it. I've never been able to dance with a partner," she replied lightly. 

"Here, I've got one for you..." Trevor placed her on his knee and then brought her hand down to her level, using two of his fingers as feet and two  more as hands as he used it for her dancing partner. "I can do the steps with my hand, really..."

Nicole laughed as she bowed to the hand and took one of the fingers with her own hand. Starting the round, she was surprised as the fingers wove through the steps just as if they were real feet. "Just not with your feet?"

"Yeah, well...I can't help it."

"Right..."

"You're not sitting out all night again," said Talia as she suddenly appeared in front of Trevor, catching his hand with her own. "Come on, dance with me for one round...please?"

"You know I can't," replied Trevor, blushing for some reason. 

"Pretty, pretty please? With sugar on top??"

"Well I...uh..."

"...for me?" Talia stuck out her bottom lip ever so slightly, making the biggest puppy dog eyes Nicole had ever seen.

"Oh, alright..."

The nymph jumped back as Trev allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, forgetting about her entirely and walking awkwardly over to the dance circle. Nicole fumed as she dusted herself off, flying after them to land on Jenny's shoulder and watch from there. The Captain looked over at her small friend and noticed her seething frown, following her gaze to Talia and Trevor where the young woman was trying to get him to follow her in the dance steps. 

"I thought Trev said he can't dance," commented Jenny as she smothered a knowing grin with her hand. 

"He can't," admitted Nicole roughly as she watched him trip and tumbled over his own feet and that of his partner time and time again. "He didn't have to go with her like that, though..."

"You say something?"

"No." Nicole crossed her arms over her chest and frowned all the more as she watched the two dance together. "Nothing at all."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Rupal, we don't have a choice," argued Brenna as she followed the younger girl up the stairs, refusing to leave her alone. "I know you know where the rest of those funds went..."

"Those, if they do exist, were for a dire emergency!" replied Rupal tiredly. "An entirely life-or-death situation!"

"And we're not in that now?!" Brenna shook her head as Rupal just ignored her, going into her room and pulling down another ledger book to see if there were any mistakes made in their favor that could bring coins their way once again. "Rupal, our cellar's almost empty, the meat's gone, the fields will bring NOTHING in and if luck decides not to desert us again we MIGHT a few bushels of half decent vegetables that won't last more than three or four weeks. And if you haven't noticed, we have more than three or four weeks before spring planting comes around again..."

"...alright. Just...this is quite literally the last of our money." 

"I know." Brenna sighed, shrugging slightly. "But we don't have a choice."

"Or at least...not a good one?"

"Yeah...all starving to death or deciding who lives and who dies is not exactly a choice I'd like to make."

"Very well..." Rupal pulled a thin strip of metal from one of her desk drawers and then pushed the desk to the side, getting down on her hands and knees and feeling around the floor where the desk had sat. Finding whatever it was she'd been looking for, she inserted the metal between two boards and popped a small square Brenna didn't know was there out of place. Reaching inside, she with drew a small purse, one that sagged heavily with the coins inside.

"How much is there?" asked Brenna as Rupal spilled the coins onto the desk, sorting through the mixed coppers and silvers quickly, a single gold among the whole lot. 

"Hopefully, just enough," replied the other girl with a frown. She took some of the coins to the side and scooped them up in her hands, placing them in a separate pouch she pulled from her desk drawer. "Send these with Libby to the miller, and tell her to buy as much of the coarsest flour he has in stock. It should only be a few coppers a bushel, and tell her to flirt with him if his wife's not around and she should get it for even less."

"Alright. What about the rest?"

"The hunter that just came into town loves to trade his kills for gold more than anything else," replied Rupal, talking more to herself than anyone else. "I'm not sure what just one gold coin will get us, but Kaitlin has a good eye for meat and she aught to be able to get us a good deal...Give this to Cheeks and have him go over to the Twin's house. I know he won't want to, but this is important. Have him trade with the twins these silvers for as many fresh vegetables as he came. Not their father, that man's too good at driving a hard deal, but the twins like him and should give it to him for practically nothing."

"You're really stretching it out, aren't you?" asked Brenna as Rupal tied the silvers into another sack, handing it to the farmer girl without looking at her.

"We're going to make every single copper stretch as far as it can bloody go, and then some," came the tight reply. Rupal glanced up, catching Brenna's eyes as she put the rest of the coppers left in the original pouch and stuck it in her belt. "Because if what you said is true, we're going to have to."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Bryanna huddled by the low fire, her teeth chattering violently in the autumn chill. It would be sometime around September, or perhaps even close to October, if they were home, but that didn't matter. Olivia and Randy sat close to her right, every bit as cold and miserable as she was in the darkening gloom.

Three weeks. Three weeks with no food, no shelter, and hardly any clothes. The robe's they'd originally worn had been sold to a peddler in exchange for some more well-used garments that wouldn't be distinguishable in a crowd. They had, since their old clothes were nicer than these, had a little left over, but had opted to trade it for some extra tunics and cloaks, instead of the rough bread he'd originally offered them. As cold as they all were, each was starting to regret having not accepted it in the first place.

"So, what now?" muttered Olivia as they all pulled closer together, the fire lighting their tired eyes, their worn, haggard faces, and the grim lines of reality that had become imprinted upon their faces. "We're being hunted like dogs, we know that from the gossip we heard in the last town. We have nowhere to go, and no way to hide ourselves for very long..."

"Let's go back to the Master's place," offered Randy grumpily. "He got us into this, maybe he'd be able to get us back out..."

"Idiot." Olivia whacked him upside the head, growling in frustration as she did. "He's not going to help us, if he is still hanging around, the bastard. He'd more likely turn us in, and use all the evidence that should be pinned on him to frame us, rather than get himself caught."

"No, wait..." Bryanna shook her head, looking over at the pair. "That might work."

"What? Bryanna, you've got to be joking," protested Olivia, pulling her arms about herself even tighter than before. "He's not going to take us in, and even if he did it'd be some sort of trap..."

"He's not going to still be there, not with us having been arrested like this," countered Bryanna quickly. "And that's the last place they're going to expect us to go. If we're lucky, he might have left something behind, too. Food, clothes, mounts...anything! Even maybe a clue as to where he's gone off to. Even if there's nothing there, it will be a place for us to stay for awhile, just until we figure out what we're going to do!"

"She has a point," supported Randy weakly, hoping not to get hit again. "It can't hurt to at least go and have a look..."

"Alright, we'll go." Olivia sighed. "I just wish we still had the horses..."

"No need to wish for what we haven't go, but without them we'll be able to go by paths other than the main roads," replied Bryanna shortly. "Come on, we'll figure out how to get there in the morning..." Banking the fire quickly, she returned to the warmth of the other two as they laid down in their little hollow and tried to hold onto every scrap of warmth they could get.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Are you sure he can't come today?" asked Chris as he put his bowl and cup in the sink, popping the last bit of bread hastily into his mouth.

"Yeah, I need him for some demonstrations," replied Kristen hurriedly as she gulped down her oatmeal with honey and cream as fast as she could. "Ohh...hothothot....mmm...sorry Chris, maybe tomorrow."

"Oh, that's alright. I don't have much planned other than to finish up a few minor projects anyways." He shrugged and pulled on his boots, glancing out the window as the skies began to darken overhead.

"Take you cloak," advised Jon as he came running in, a bag of vegetables over his shoulder. "Weather-witches are predicting a downpour sometime this afternoon."

"Alright. I'll go ahead and take lunch, then, too, since it'll be too much trouble to return here and eat," agreed Chris as he sliced some more bread and cheese and wrapped it in a clean cloth, placing it in a pouch with some cold sausage for later. "Don't expect to see me until dinner, guys!"

"Alright."

"Sorry I can't go, Chris!" yelled Cam from upstairs, sticking his head down suddenly.

"S'ok, kiddo, you can come later!"

"I'm not a kid..."

"You're a kid until you've gotten drunk your first time, lad," said Matt as he winked at him teasingly. "Then you'll be a man. Then again, Kristen won't let us take you out like that so maybe you'll never be a man!"

"Hey, I haven't gotten drunk and I'm a man," retorted Chris as he stood in the doorway, giving Matt a dark look.

"Yeah, but you're also a foot taller than anyone else here, and we're not going to argue that point with someone who could smash us into a pulp just by sitting on us."

"Right..." Chris rolled his eyes and left, striding confidently down the streets to his shop. Using his key, he unlocked the front door and went in, changing the sign to 'Open' just as the as the first few big, fat drops fell from the.

"How d'ye do, ser?" called the miller as he suddenly stuck his head in, wearing an oiled cap and cloak to keep the worst of it off.

"Fine, miller." Chris gave him a respectful nod. "Something you want?"

"Jest wantin' t'know when th'order'll be done."

"It's right here, actually..." Chris glanced back outside as he got the small chest down, unwrapping it and polishing off his fingerprints before he let the man inspect it himself. The rain was coming down like anything, and he was glad that he, unlike some others, worked indoors.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Briteyes sighed as she pulled up her hood and wrapped her lute in a long strip of oiled cloth to protect it from the rain. She'd have to give up on her street playing earlier than she wanted, and hopefully the tavern that took her in last night would do it again tonight. Not that her takings had been great, but they were decent enough for this time of year and with the majority of the main Taverns having a musician that played regularly as it was or those that didn't not having many patrons for one reason or another she hadn't done too poorly. Still, she could use a hot bath and maybe a real meal for once. Maybe she could wrangle a better deal with the barkeep since she had brought in a nice flow of customers...well, she could think about that later. Right now she had to find someplace out of this cursed rain.

"Going so soon?" asked the old woman who sold fresh eggs in the stall to her left, so bundled in her cloaks and wraps that she looked more like a pile of blankets with a nose and a pair of beady eyes at the top rather than an actual person.

"It's bad weather for a player," replied Briteyes with a wry grin and a shrug. Her mask in place as always, she stood slowly and carefully gathered up her things.

[And a squirrel] replied Silven as she sat in a pocket Briteyes had sewn for her in her cloak where she could look out at the world without getting wet. [My fur takes forever to dry...]

"Yes, and for squirrels..."

"Well, good day to ya, and hope to see you again soon," offered the old woman with a good-natured laugh. "Ya don't do much for my business here, but ol'Harold across the way makes a pretty penny every time you come by, what with the extra drinks he sells."

"Yeah, well, we know where all of that goes," laughed Briteyes dryly, acting like she was taking a swig out of a bottle with her hands. 

"One can only hope the ol'buzzard will drink himself away, and his son'll finally take over," cackled the old woman. "He's a sprightly young thing, I'm told."

"Aye, well...until next time, Mistress Mair."

"Until then!"

[Where are we staying tonight?]

"Not a clue. Depends on if that one fellow wouldn't mind having us again..."

[His son was creepy. I didn't like it there at all.]

"It wasn't my favorite place, either, but it'll have to do..."

"Where you going in such a hurry, hun?" said a big guy as he appeared in front of them, grinning lopsidedly. "I think you forgot something..." He held up her staff, which Briteyes had accidentally left behind by the old woman.

"What do you know. My mistake." The performer shrugged, then held her hand out patiently. "Mind giving that back so I can be on my way?"

"Yeah, actually I would..." Briteyes sighed as a few more appeared from the shadows, surrounding her and Silven on all four sides. "Because I'm going to need something in return to even let you pass."

"Not this...look, I don't have time to deal with you guys so if you could just give it back I'd really appreciate it..."

"Not this time, miss!" Briteyes let her instincts take over as both her arms were grabbed, the power of her magic surging through her veins as she stepped back and slammed her fists towards each other, the two men surprised at the force and letting themselves be thrown into one another. Loosening their grasp on her arms just enough, the performer slipped free and ducked away, slipping her lute off her shoulder to bring it up neck first to the chin of the third guy behind her. Whirling back around, she easily evaded the original two who'd grabbed for her and slipped between them, grabbing their collars and smashing their heads together before she dove at the last guy, the one who held her staff, with her lute held high overhead. Bringing it down with all she had, he went out like a light upon contact with a satisfying *CRACK*.

"Oh no...you alright, Silven?"

[Yeah, I nearly got thrown out once or twice, though. You REALLY should warm me when you do that!]

"Sorry, there wasn't time...let's find some place where it's dry, I think I might have hit that last fellow a little too hard..."

[What? I didn't see any blood...]

"Not him, silly, too hard for the lute."

[Oh...]

Snatching up the staff, they ducked down several streets before they came to an overhang they could pause under. "Hmm...looks like they decided not to follow us after they got themselves put back together," muttered Briteyes as she glanced about before carefully unwrapping the prized lute. She examined the base, fingers carefully covering it inch by inch until they discovered a fracture running along the neck. "Well, shoot..."

[You're going to have to get that fixed, and soon] commented Silven as she came down and looked at it, tapping the wood lightly with her claws. 

"Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. Might as well go and find a wood worker, one that could given an estimate on the cost so I'll be sure to have enough before he does it for me."

[Guess that means no more playing for today. Let's go now!]

"Alright..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Are you sure we can afford to take a break like this?" asked Landon nervously as he tended to the packs and the fire, Alyse and Revlis circling each other just a few yards away with their weapons out.

"We're fine," said Alyse lightly as she leapt towards Revlis, fans flashing in the mid-afternoon sun. "We've confirmed the location of the spot, and noted he is there among other unmagic users. They don't know we're here, thus it is best to bide our time and wait and see what happens...ha!"

"Almost got me!" crowed Revlis as she fell flat on her back before rolling away and springing to her feet once more. "But not quite!"

"If I really had, you'd be dead," pointed out Alyse as she backed up slightly, readjusting her grip. 

"That is very true...Ha!" She flicked her wrist sideways, her knifed catching the fan at a joint and nearly bringing it from Alyse's hands. Alyse jerked her wrist in reply, succeeding in sending the knife across the clearing.

"Nice try," teased Alyse as she jumped back out of range, standing with her fan's ready. "You're going to have to do better than that, though. Plus, I've seen that move already."

"I have one trump you'll never beat," said Revlis evilly as she let her eyes and teeth change, barring her fangs at her partner. 

"No going panther, you promised," warned Alyse, backing up another step. "It's too uncontrollable, and there is a real danger you might hurt someone."

"Only when I pounce on them," teased Revlis with a wink, letting her eyes and teeth change back. 

"Believe me, I know, and once was enough for me."

"You two scare me sometimes," muttered Landon as he sat on the other side of the fire, his short sword leaning up against the tree next to him. "I think I'm gonna go find some firewood or something."

"What, you don't want to join our little scrimmage?"

"We promise we'll go easy on you..."

Landon snorted as they laughed, getting up and walking away to find some more dry wood. "I know when I'm out of my league!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"You as restless as I am, boy?" asked Nicole as she sidled up to Butch's cage, her 'saddle' and 'bridle' in hand. Slipping them on, she eased into her place before she opened the door and removed the hood from the bird. Seeing his freedom, the giant shrike leapt into the sky, taking Nicole with him as he careened and cavorted through the air above the ship. 

"Yeehaw!!!!"

Holding on with all her might, the tiny nymph added a strong, but steady breeze around the ship that doubled back on itself, creating a roller coaster like path for the predatory bird to follow. Through dips, spins, turns, and loops...it was some of the most fun she had since she took young Ty on a trip with her through the top of the ship. 

Time flew by just as they did, and eventually she slowed Butch down and steered him back towards his cage, finding Talia waiting with Trev beside it instead of just Trev, who usually helped her take care of him so Butch wouldn't get hurt or anything.

"You remember how to do it, right?" asked Trev as he held out his arm, Butch landing obediently with his claws clasped about his forearm. "Just check his eyes and wings...put the hood back on before you do that, of course, but you know what to do..."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" asked Nicole as she slid off and quickly undid the buckles and hooks that held the ingenious little riding pad together. "What does it matter if she remembers or not? She's not the one that's taking care of Butch..."

"Actually, she will be," cut in Trev with an apologetic smile as he handed over the bird to the young woman, watching closely as she went over the bird just as he'd said. "Captain has some projects she wants me to work on...I won't have time for much anything else, and you're not exactly capable of taking care of this big fellow on your own."

"But...I...you..."

"Don't worry, I used to take care of birds like this guy back at the village all the time," Talia assured Nicole quickly with a kind, patronizing smile. "He'll be in good hands..."

"That's not what I...."

"Trev, get back in here, we have some accounts to go over!" yelled Jenny from her cabin, appearing to wave at him impatiently.

"Coming!" he called back, giving both of them a quick grin before he ran towards the cabin. "Thanks Nicole, I knew you'd understand!"

"Trev, I-....dang it!"

"Something wrong?" asked Talia as she finished her inspection, putting the bird back in it's cage.

"No, I'm fine," ground out Nicole as she flew off to the kitchen where the new cook would stuff her with sweets and hopefully make the huge knot in her stomach go away. There was something to be said about the solace that could be found in candied fruits. 

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Brenna, it's time to eat!" called Kaitlin from the dining room, the resident farmer girl sitting by the fire in the kitchen darning the holes in her thick winter socks. 

Though her stomach grumbled loudly, Brenna replied, "Oh, don't worry about me! Go ahead and eat, I'll come by and pick off what's left later..."

"No, you're coming and eating now," said Libby firmly as she came from downstairs. "Get in here, Brenna, we're not starting with out you..."

"No, really, I'm fine..."

"Liar. And a bad one too," commented Cheeks. "Just get in here, ok? You don't have to eat much, but at least eat something..."

"I know you gave your lunch to Jem, so don't even tell me you're not hungry," added Kaitlin as she walked in and took the sock out of her hands gently. "Come on, we're all hungry..."

"I said you could start without me," grumbled Brenna as she rose suddenly. "If you insist on making me food, then this is what I'll do..." She walked into the dinning room, picking up Jem's plate and adding what was put on hers to it. "There, happy? The food won't be wasted now..."

"You not eating is not going to save enough for us to last the winter, Brenna," said Rupal quietly as she stopped her from leaving the room, looking her in the eye. "And you starving yourself so you can't work isn't going to help things either. Sit. Eat. Now."

"I could crush you if I wanted to," said Brenna threateningly as she leaned over the stature-challenged Rupal. "It wouldn't be hard...."

"But you won't." The reply was so calm and steady that Brenna's resolve broke, turning around slowly and shuffling back to the table. Rupal let out a sigh, bowing her head as she rubbed a hand over her eyes.

"I'm only eating because I have to," muttered Brenna as she accepted her portion and plate back from Jem. 

"We all have to eat," countered Cheeks as they all sat down and began to nibble through their small servings, trying to make them last as long as they could. He was still pale, and a little wheezy at times, but whatever had affected him before was mainly gone, for the moment. Too bad their troubles weren't going the same way. 

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Com'on na, up wit ye," called the farmer as he kicked Randy none to gently, waking the young man who lay curled up with his two companions in the hay. "I sed ye kin ride wit me ta Vern'n'Gram, an'not a step more! We be here, so out wit ye!"

"Get up, we're here," said Randy as he forced himself to stand groggily and climbed out of the back of the wagon. Turning around, he helped Olivia down to the ground, Bryanna simply jumping when she reached the edge. "Thank you sir. We don't have any way to repay you..."

"Jest git back t'ye mum," replied the farmer with a rough shrug. "She'll be needin' ye if what ye say be true."

"Thank you, we appreciate it!" called Bryanna as the wagon drove out of sight, straightening her dress quickly. 

"Nice work with the tears last night," commented Olivia as she pulled out the bits of straw from her hair. "A free ride like that...we covered more ground asleep than we have awake in awhile."

"Yeah, well, let's keep going."

They turned down Gram, the road that would lead to the village the mage Master had been near. Starting out, they ran across a stream and stopped for a bit, washing their hands and faces as well as getting something to drink. 

"Mmm...I really need something to eat," muttered Randy as his stomach growled again. 

"I was able to get us a loaf of bread a few days ago, and she managed to cajole that cheese out of the farmer so it's your turn to find breakfast," replied Bryanna as she tied her hair back up. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

Seeing as he had no way to provide breakfast, on they walked, the sun rising higher and higher overhead until they came to the turnoff they were looking for, right before the village itself. Down along this new path they went without even stopping for a break. Why bother? They had no food, no water, and few means of carrying it with them if they did. 

Eventually the mansion came in sight. Or what was left of it, that is. 

"Holy cow...it's gone..." muttered Randy as he walked in the front gate, the tall, proud stone walls that had once reached two and a half stories high now were lower than his knees, rubble lying about in every direction and nothing useful in sight at all.

"Come on," said Olivia as she stepped smartly through the front door, or the place where it had once been. "Just because the walls have been destroyed doesn't mean the cellar was. And from the looks of it, no one's been through this stuff yet, and there's a ton left over that might be useful for something..."

Wrapping their hands in strips of clothes from their cloaks, they began the tedious job of shifting through the piles and piles of toppled wood and stone, hoping to find something of use there. At the days end their spoils were no much, but they were more than they'd had before. A piece of the wall still standing became their shelter, and the few lengths of oiled cloth they found in the toppled stables made a great roof. That, plus a few handfuls of flour that wasn't ruined and a couple of late apples from the orchard...perhaps they just might live through this experience after all.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Ahh!!!"

Kristen stopped her instruction to sprint over to the other side of the building when she heard the cry, leaving Cam in charge for the moment. Bursting in, she found Matt lying flat on his back, his knee twisted at an angle that she knew wasn't right.

"Oh my gosh...Matt, what'd you do?" she winced as he moaned in pain, creeping closer as Cam appeared as well.

"Slipped," he grunted as he blinked rapidly, Jon already kneeling beside him and checking to see what was broken and what wasn't. "Someone tracked in water...and I slipped and hit Mike..."

Kristen glanced over at Mike, who lay out cold on the floor, a nasty looking bump forming on his forehead. "Ouch...class!" She quickly got the attention of all the students there, waiting impatiently for them to quiet down before she went on. "You are dismissed. Unless you hear otherwise, class will be held at normal times other than today. Get your things together and get going so we don't have to worry about you as well!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Did you train them to do that?" asked Kristen over her shoulder as she walked back towards her side to dismiss them as well. 

"Yeah..." admitted Matt as he sat up with Jon's help, his mouth set in a line from the pain. "Very satisfying...to hear 'yes, sir'....every time I give a command..."

"Right..." She dismissed her class as well, sending Cam after Chris so he could come help Jon get those two to the doctor as quickly as possible.

"Chris!!" yelled Cam as he came bursting into the workshop, scaring a few of the customers who were inside looking around.

"What is it, Cam?" asked Chris as he put down the puzzle box he'd been explaining to a potential buyer, one of the more wealthy merchants around. "Something wrong?"

"Matt hurt his knee and Mike got hit in the head," explained the young boy hurriedly as he motioned vaguely over his shoulder in the direction of the house. "Kristen wants you to come back and help Jon get them to the healer. Matt can't walk, and Jon's not strong enough to carry him there on his own."

"Hm...excuse me, but I'm going to have to close the shop! Family emergency!" Everyone was shooed out rather quickly, Chris removing his leather apron and leaving it behind on the counter as he closed the door after himself and ran with Cam back to the house. Unfortunately, in his haste, he forgot to lock the door...

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

[Are you sure this is the place?] asked Silven as Briteyes looked up at the sign, comparing it to the one drawn on the piece of paper she was carrying.

"Yeah, only place on this street that's a general wood worker. Most of them are specialized, and after the quote that one instrumental repair shop gave me, I'd rather take my chances here than go back there," replied Briteyes shortly. The plank with a hammer, chisel, and awl hanging from it, it could be no one but the carver she'd heard good things about other than the fact he was a Trader. Some considered that a taboo, but as long as he got the crack fixed or the neck replaced, and at a reasonable price...she didn't see why it would hurt to use his services this once.

Walking up to the door, with her hood still up as it had yet to stop raining over the last few days, she pushed the door open and stood in the entrance. Surprised when no one answered the bell that was wrung as she closed the door behind herself, she glanced about and could find no one in there at all. Leaning her staff against the door, pulling off her wet hood, and placing the lute on a table, she called, "Hello?"

[This is creepy] commented Silven as she crawled down from Briteyes' pocket, sniffing around the tops of the tables as her human friend crept slowly around the store.

"Looks like someone was here," added Briteyes as she found a lamp, picking it up carefully only to have it sputter and die, leaving the shop in semi-darkness. "The open sign was out, right?"

[Yeah, I think so...hey, look at this!] Briteyes stood behind the squirrel as she opened the lid to a tiny chest, inside being a perfectly sculpted miniature horse.

"Wow, this amazing- urk!"

"Gotcha!" said a deep voice behind her as Briteyes felt herself being lifted off the group by the back of her cloak and tunic, writhing in mid air and whoever it was held her there easily. "Stop squirming, I don't want to smack you but I will and I should to for sneaking around my shop like this when it's closed...thieves are not welcome here."

Briteyes had heard enough. Spinning herself around, she opened her mouth wide and sank her teeth into her holder's wrist as hard as she could, drawing blood in the process as he howled and dropped her quickly. Her mask when clattering to the floor, Silven jumping at her attacker and sinking her fangs into his ear as she got close enough, leaving a nice set of prints as he snatched at her and held her trapped in his hands, ignoring the pain as she continued to attempt to gnaw her way out of his hands. He thumped her on the head with her other hand and shoved her in a random bag while she was too stunned to do anything else. 

"You let the door unlocked!" she spat as she wiped the man's blood from her mouth, gagging when she couldn't rid herself of the taste. Backing up, she scrubbed her mouth with her shirtsleeve and picked up her mask, reaching for the panpipes that'd dropped from her belt as well. "Elck....I'm not a thief, stupidhead. I was a customer looking for some help, but I think I'll be leaving now..."

"Wait a sec..." Briteyes fumed and was about to bite again as he grabbed her arm, but was stopped when the huge Trader went on. "Amanda?"

"Huh?! Wait, who the heck are you?! No one here knows me by that name! Or at least there isn't a Trader that should..."

"It's me, Chris!" the man went on excitedly, stepping into the light from the window as the performer backed up another step in disbelief. "Come on you remember me, right? We used to hang out all the time before I went off the college...Amanda?"

"Christopher Latik Brewster, if you EVER scare me like again I'll....do something that'll be very, very painful," growled Briteyes as she shook her head, holding out her arms as he picked her up in a huge bear hug. "Oof....you're as strong as ever...it's been far too long since I last saw you, little brother."

"Speaking of little, your friend here is still trying to escape my pouch," commented Chris as he put her back down gently, picking up the sack from the table. "I don't think she likes me very much..."

"I wouldn't either, after a performance like that," replied Briteyes roughly. "Here, give it to me...relax, Silven, everything's going to be ok...you're not going to believe what happened, though."

[What?!] asked the squirrel testily as she popped out of the sake and placed herself back on Briteyes shoulder, chattering angrily all the while. [I aught to castrate him with a freaking twig or something, putting me in a sack like that...stupid men! What are you so happy, about?!]

"Silven, he's from our world," explained Briteyes slowly. "Chris, who else is with you? Or are you by yourself?"

"Oh, no, not by a long shot," replied Chris with a grin as he put things up real fast and changed the sign to closed, motioning towards the door. "Come on, I usually close about now and there's some hot dinner and a bed waiting for you at my place with the others if you'll come with me. Please? We haven't seen anyone else from our world for a long time..."

"We're coming," decided Briteyes firmly, her stomach grumbling joyously at the thought of getting some real food for once.

"Good, and on the way you can explain why you were sneaking around my shop."

"I was not sneaking!"

"Were too..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Alyse sat by the fire as the skies darkened once again, Landon and Revlis tending to dinner as she worked. Her eyes flickering open suddenly, she sat back and sighed as she reached instinctively for the cup of tea or juice that would be at her knee as always. Sipping it slowly, she picked up the map they'd been studying earlier made a few more marks on it, Revlis coming over to study what she'd done carefully.

"No open use of powers, yet?" she asked simply as Alyse stood and wobbled her way over to the fire, closer to the food. Landon reached out and helped her sit, taking her cup from her hand when she had and refilling it for her without having to be asked.

"No, though it's getting harder and harder to detect them, the more that they mass in the outlying towns," admitted Alyse with a sigh and a shrug. "It's like, the more of them that there are as individuals, the more their signals cancel one another out."

"That's an interesting concept," said Landon as he drew in the dirt at their feet. "You mean like this? where their 'signals' are sort of like radio waves, and the more there are on the same frequency, the more they break and distort each other?"

"In a way, I suppose..."

"Hm..."

"Well, no matter what can you tell if they've all arrived or not?" asked Revlis as she waved Landon aside, him leaning over his drawings and created some others beside it. "That's a rather important part of this whole thing, you know..."

"Yes, I know," murmured Alyse as she sat back and considered what she'd found and felt. "I...I think they're waiting for something. I don't know if they're waiting for someone to arrive or for something to happen...but they're waiting, that much I can tell you without a doubt."

"I guess all we can do is wait, then, too," murmured Revlis as she twitched her ears, letting herself fall into her panther form. Padding over to Alyse's side, she curled up and looked at the elder girl imploringly, using all of her cat charms to get what she wanted. 

"You are a shameful little kitten," sighed Alyse a she scratched the giant cat behind the ears, smiling slightly as she rested her head in her lap and purred loudly. 

"She sounds like a motor when she does that, she's so big."

Revlis looked up, narrowing her eyes at Landon as the young man hid behind Alyse quickly. 

"He wasn't insulting you, just making a comparison," explained Alyse as Revlis moved as if to rise, knowing she probably wouldn't understand the concept of a motor. "Come on and sit still, I'm not going to scratch you if you keep moving around like this..."

Revlis bared her teeth at Landon but sat down none the less, falling asleep contentedly with a purr that could be heard halfway across the clearing.

"Man, she can be scary sometimes," muttered Landon as he poured them both some stew, bringing Alyse hers as she couldn't really move. 

"Naw, she's just a big kitten for all her fangs and claws," replied Alyse as she ate quickly, glad for the warmth the huge beast provided as the area began to cool rapidly. "Look at her...isn't she cute?"

"Yeah, cute," muttered her companion as he curled up in his own blanket and rolled his eyes. "I will never understand girls..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Nicole flitted and flew about as usual, reading the air currents as they were and using them to their advantage rather than creating one entirely her own. She'd learned long ago that to go entirely against mother-nature was often times very tiring as well as possibly dangerous. She wasn't a bottomless well of power, and she did, and had, run herself out entirely when she wasn't careful with how much she used at one time. 

"What's the reading?" asked Tanner at the helm as Nicole landed on the wheel itself, standing between two of the spokes as he steered them on as steadily as ever. 

"A fair Northeast that I rerouted so it'll take us straight North," replied Nicole as she gave him a thumbs up. "Not that it took much, it was heading to go that way eventually. Just a gentle nudge there and a slight twinge there...done easily enough, really."

"You speak of the wind as if it were just a tame trickle of water that you could do whatever you wished to with," commented Tanner as he gazed down at her for a moment, awe in his voice. "I've seen _mirimanders_ before...our people's mages. Most don't even live to be adults, their work is so dangerous, yet you do it as if it costs you nothing at all..."

Nicole shrugged. "I don't know why, or how I can do it so easily. I just can."

"Did the winds tell you anything else, than, young nymph?" asked Tanner lightly as he changed their course slightly so they'd stay true on their path, forcing Nicole to leave her spot and hover instead right by his ear. 

"Only that fall is well upon us, and will be followed rather quickly by winter this year," admitted Nicole with a slight shrug. The winds that blow South bear a bite that I do not wish to encounter, personally, when they're at full force."

"Hopefully, our Captain will give us a clue as to where our winter berth will be, and you will not need to, little on," teased Tanner as he continued with his job, Nicole sticking her tongue out at him before flying off once more.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Libby sniffled as she stood in between Cheeks and Brenna, a pyre of sorts before them as the sickly-sweet smell of burning flesh filled the air. The horses had died all in the space of one week, and before Cheeks could finish their graves the last cows had died as well. The sheep and goats were long gone as it was, and each one, when gutted open, was rotted through and through to the point of being completely inedible. 

Not even a day after they'd agreed to build the pyre so the bodies would be taken care of without rotting there in the middle of nowhere, the few bunnies Libby hadn't given away passed on as well, and all she was left with was Pinky, Rosie, and Iforget. Even those three were not doing well, though, and Brenna had predicted they might not make it through the winter to spring. 

"It's ok," said Brenna as she put her arm about her friend. "After this winter, we'll have a good harvest, you'll see...we'll buy more horses and cows and start all over again..."

"My bunnies," whimpered Libby as she looked away, unable to bear the sight of the limp, charred bodies anymore. "They're gone..."

"We couldn't keep them around, the ground's partially frozen already as it is and we couldn't have made them all proper graves before they began to rot and stink up the place," replied Cheeks gently. "Libby, we didn't have a choice...or at least not a good one."

"Can we scoop up their ashes when it's over and sprinkle it over the fields?" asked Libby mournfully as she huggled Pinky to her chest. 

"Well...uh...sure...I guess."

"Good, I think they'd like that," whispered Libby sadly. "They'd be with the grass and in the sun again...and their little bunny ghosts could hop around just like they were alive again, and be all happy in the fields...yeah. And we could name them 'Fields of the Bunnies' after them, so they wouldn't ever be forgotten...could we do that too?"

"Whatever makes you happy," replied Brenna with a shrug as she turned back to walk towards the house. "Come on, we'll come back and get the ashes when it's over. Can you tend the fire, Cheeks?"

"Aye, that's not hard."

"Thanks."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Olivia poked through random parts of the tumbled mansion, the other two still asleep. Not that she wasn't tired, but she had taken last shift that night and had already gotten enough sleep to last her the whole day. It'd been a few days now, and everyday they'd woken and searched through a little more of the place, sometimes having a great deal of luck and others none and all.

Their food supply had grown some, having found enough fresh fruit in the orchard in the back to last them as long as it would keep in the stables, and more barrels of flour in the storerooms below ground that they were slowly uncovering. A few bottles of wine had been found that weren't shattered, and they'd had a great time celebrating one night with those, but considering Randy had been found the next morning flat on his back wearing nothing but his small clothes by the fire, and Olivia and Bryanna had woken up back to back someplace in the mansion, they weren't sure they wanted to try that again anytime soon. That, and they'd used all the wine at once so there was no more until they managed to buy it or unlock another cellar of it. 

Wrapping the blanket she'd brought tightly about herself -one of the few they'd found completely buried that wasn't being used as a rat's nest or was covered in mildew, she padded down the corridor they'd cleared just the other day, turning into the partially-standing room she thought had been the mage's study. Or one of his studies, anyways. 

There wasn't much left, really. All the books, equipment, and potions were gone, leaving nothing but a few scattered sheaves of paper and random, knocked over bottles of ink that had dried on the floors and tables, where ever they had landed. These she flipped through, then tossed aside, finding really nothing of interest. Still, knowing mages tended to be secretive about some of things, and couldn't possibly remember where they'd hid every little thing. 

So, along the walls and then in the chests of draws and through the desks that were still standing she looked, pulling out every drawer and poking into every nook and cranny with a stick she'd found just incase it had any prior occupants and would grab onto the stick, rather than her. 

"What are you doing?" asked Randy as he appeared behind her out of the blue, making the Ice mage jump in startlement. 

"Looking around," she replied simply as she gave him a half hearted glare. 

"For what?"

"I don't know...anything that might give us a clue on how to get out of this mess," came the muttered reply, Olivia pulling out another one of the drawers and dumping its contents out on the table nearby, sifting through them after dumping it in Randy's hands. "Look over that?"

"For what?"

"A scrap of paper, a key...anything!"

"What, you mean like this?" Randy held up a thin slip of paper he'd carefully pealed from the side, Olivia snatching it from his hands and looking over it quickly. It was a map of some sort, and while she didn't understand what exactly all the marks meant she headed back for the barn where Bryanna was still asleep. She might know what they meant.

"Come on idiot, let's go!" she called over her shoulder as Randy just stood there, looking as puzzled as ever.

"What? ...oh, wait up!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Chris opened the front door and stepped in, letting Briteyes and Silven in before he closed and locked the door behind them all. "Anyone home?" he called as he shed his boots by the door, motioning for her to do the same, surprised when she slipped off a pair of sandals. 

Walking into the kitchen, he hung his cloak by the fire, making room so she could do so as well. Underneath his, he was relatively dry but he realized his old friend did not have the luxury of a fully waterproof cloak as she removed hers and her clothes dripped wetly the same way her cloak had.

"Good grief, girl, you must be freezing..."

"Hey, is that you, Chris?" called a familiar voice, a young man with a bit more muscle and long hair slid down the ladder into view. "It's just you and me until the rest get home, they're still with Matt and Mike at the healer's...oh. Who'd you bring home?"

"Nice to see you to, Jon," said Briteyes sarcastically as she dragged her fingers through her damp hair, her face completely bare for once as she was wearing neither the hood or the mask. 

"....Amanda?" He paused, coming over slowly as he studied her. "You...shrunk. I think. And you've got so much gray in your hair I would've thought you an old woman if I saw you from a ways away. And nice scar." He traced a line with his finger to show what he meant. "How'd you get it?"

"Not sure," she said with a shrug, watching as Chris bribed the small squirrel from her side with some bits of bread and honey. "It's a very long, long story..."

"Oh, I'm sure it is."

"Look at this thing, it's amazing," said Chris softly as Silven studied him as well, mirroring his actions as he made faces or did crazy things with his hands. "It's like she actually knows what she's doing! Where'd you find her, Amanda?"

Silven sighed and smacked herself in the head with her paws. [Oi...big, dumb lug. He's a nice big lug. But he's still a dumb one, too.]

Briteyes coughed and muttered, "Says she who gives into animal instincts more often than human reasoning."

[Hey!]

"I was about to start dinner, you want anything in particular?" asked Jon as he moved past her, pouring some water in a kettle and putting it over the fire to boil. "You look like you need it."

"Hot food," she said with a sniffle and a shrug. "Other than that...*achoo*..well, if I could have some dry clothes, that'd be nice."

"Do you have any others with you that you could change into?" asked Chris as he motioned to her bag. Briteyes grimaced and shook her head. "Well, I'd lend you some of mine, but they'd swamp you big sis..."

"Kristen won't be back for awhile yet, and NO ONE dares enter her room without her being here," said Jon thoughtfully.

"Kristen? As in lil'sis?" asked Briteyes as she glanced at Chris, who nodded with a grin in reply. "Ok, yeah...if her room's anything like the one she had back home I won't be taking my chances there. And I'm not wearing Mike and Matt's stuff, if it's the two I think it is. Who else is there?"

"There's the little guy," commented Chris. "But his stuff will probably be a bit small, he's thin as anything..."

"I've got some old stuff you can borrow, just until Kristen gets back," sighed Jon with a shrug, heading towards the ladder as Briteyes sneezed again. "Come on."

"...alright." She followed him upstairs, saying over her shoulder, "Stay and be good, Silven!"

[What did I tell you about ordering me around like an animal?! I am NOT your pet....I'm only staying because he's got honey and bread and I'm really hungry...]

"Right..."

"You say something?" asked Jon as he opened the door to his room, motioning to the changing screen in the corner and rummaging around in his clothes chest that wouldn't be too horribly huge on her.

"Nothing you'd understand," came the sardonic reply.

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine today," snorted Jon as he tossed her a loose tunic, trews, and belt of the same color. 

"Absolutely."

"Throw your things over," he said as she began to rapidly remove her wet things and replace them with the wonderfully dry ones he'd given her. "I'll put them in with the laundry that's going to be done tomorrow."

"Ok...oh gosh, it's going to be nice to be warm again..."

Kristen opened the front door right then, Matt hobbling after her just moments after Jon and Amanda had disappeared upstairs. "Hey, we're home!"

"Hey, good news!" called Chris. "I ran into-"

"No time now, have to get this idiot upstairs," said Kristen as she helped Matt over to the ladder, giving him a boost up and then standing behind him incase he fell the whole way. "Tell me when I get back down, ok?"

"Wait, but isn't his room...?"

"We switched him with Cam last week, remember?"

"Oh, right...need any help?"

"No, I'm fine," replied Matt as he glanced back at Chris and gave a quick wave. "Once I get to bed and am well dosed with my meds, I'll be out like a light for awhile...I'm looking forward to it greatly."

"I bet. Well, take it easy."

"I will!!"

"Wonder what he was gonna say,"  huffed Matt as he waited for Kristen at the top of the ladder, leaning against Jon's door. He blinked when he realized he heard voices behind him, one obviously being Jon and the other being a female voice he didn't recognize at all.

"Ready to go?" asked Kristen as she stood up beside him, surprised when he motioned for her to be quiet and leaned up closer against the door.

"Jon's got a girl in," he mouthed with a sly grin as she frowned, but leaned in as well, listening to the snatches of conversation that floated through the thick door. 

"...throw your things over..."

"...oh gosh....warm again..."

"....help you get warm...."

"...definitely take you up on that..."

The door suddenly opened, Matt falling flat on his face inside as a surprised Jon and a familiar young woman looked out, her dressed in his clothes.

"Matt? What the hell were you doing leaning up against my door?" asked Jon as he nudged the prone young man with his toe in the side.

Matt giggled slyly, winking as Jon and the woman just looked confused. "So, you gonna help her get warm again, Jon?"

Kristen suddenly recognized her, elated and annoyed all at once. "AMANDA!! You're here!! But...how could you?!?! Jon of all people..."

"I was just offering to make her some tea," said Jon with a shrug as he turned and headed for the ladder. "I'm gonna go finish dinner now..."

"Why are you wearing his clothes, though?" demanded Kristen suspiciously as she helped the dumbfounded Matt to his feet. "Amanda, that's not like you..."

"I was soaked through, and you guys weren't home," replied the performer with a shrug. "I couldn't wear Chris's stuff, it would've fallen right off of me..."

"She has a point," sighed Matt as he gave her a quick hug and a wink. "Oh well, no nooky for Jon."

"MATT!!"

*doublethwap*

"Owies...I'm an injured man! You shouldn't hit me like that!"

Kristen's eye began to twitch as Briteyes just turned around to face him rather slowly, a scary look in her bright eyes. "Wanna bet?"

"Eh...no."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Ben hurried to his rooms right after the summons had come, pouring himself some water from the pitcher by the pallet that was his bed and washing away the dirt and grime that came with doing menial servant tasks as quickly as he could. Dressing in his 'play clothes', he was about to run out the door when the old woman stopped him, a worried look on her face.

"Nana! What's wrong, did they summon you too?"

"No, Ben, I just wanted to caution you," sighed the old woman as she handed him something, a small ball with a string tied to it. "Keep this with you, ok? If something happens, and you've displeased the Master top the point of death, pull on that string...and run."

"But Nana, I..."

"Don't argue with me boy, just do it and hurry!" she said simply, steering him out the door and pushing him down the hall before he even realized it. "Don't use it if you don't have to, just in case of an emergency, though..."

The old woman sighed as he disappeared down the halls. Even if the Master was pleased with his work, that did not bide well for the boy. Masters and servants who got mixed up with each other where never a good thing...

Ben dashed down the hallways as fast as he could, coming to the Master's doorway and bowing to the guards standing there.

"Identify yourself," said the guard flatly, neither kind or mean, just simply doing his job.

"Ben, servant boy," came the immediate reply. "I was summoned, sir."

"Stay here." The guard cracked the door open, saying something to those inside. Whatever he said was met with approval, and the doors were opened quickly for the young boy.

"Welcome, Ben, do come in," said Artor as he grabbed the servant boy by the arm and dragged him over to where his father sat. "Father has some wonderful news!"

"Well, I must test him first, son, that was part of the agreement," came the neutral reply, the Baron picking up a tablet of soft wax and making some marks with a stylus in it. "Can you work these problems out for me, Ben?"

"I'll try, sir..." He gingerly took the tablet, holding the stylus awkwardly as it had a different weight and feel to it than the pencils and pens he was used to using back home. Making a few quick marks, he handed it back to the man. "Here you are, sir."

"Hmm....ok." He handed the tablet back to Ben with the stylus. "Write for me as I say something, alright? Very good...now: The blue sky high above us all has twelve clouds and one sun." Ben did as he was told and handed it back, wondering what all of this was about.

"Hm...very good. And will you read me part of this paragraph here." The Baron handed him a thick volume, opening it to a specific page that had been marked with a strip of leather. 

"I'll try, sir... '_Then a proud warrior asked the fighting-men of their family line; "From whence bring ye blue-gray mailcoats, and your var- var-nished....varnished shields, your visored helmets, and a heap of hardshafts? I am herald and thane of stern Hroth....Hroth.._." Ben glanced imploringly at the Baron, who simply replied:

"Hrothgar. Well done, lad you've passed the test." The Baron rose heavily and rang a bell, Artor whooping for joy as Ben just stood there in puzzlement. 

"Excuse me, sir, but what test have I passed?" asked Ben hesitantly. "If I may be so bold as to ask, sir."

"You may, this once," replied the Baron as an even older, scholarly looking man shuffled into the room from a side entrance, a stern look on his face. "Master Eunice here has agreed to take on an extra student, Ben, during young Artor's tutoring times. And seeing as there are no other eligible boys among the ranks, that boy shall be you."

"Me??"

"Yeah, you get to stay with me through the afternoons now, and help me learn stuff, just like you did the other day, remember?" asked Artor as he grinning happily at Ben. "Just like when I couldn't read that work, and you helped me figure it out!"

"Oh...ok. Thank you, sir." Ben bowed slightly, unsure of what to do now. "Erm...how will this affect me workload, though, sir?"

"You will retain your regular duties during the morning hours, have your 'free hours' after lunch, and then report to Master Eunice for a few hours of Arithmetic, Writing, Reading, and Etiquette. The latter you are not required to stay for, though such knowledge could perhaps come in handy one day."

"Yes, sir."

"You are dismissed now," said the Baron with a wave of his hand as Artor was led of by Master Eunice for some of his other lessons. "Do not be late for your free hour after lunch!"

"I will not, sir," replied Ben as he bowed himself out of the room quickly. Once out in the hall he breathed a sigh of relief and shook himself out slightly. Lessons, now? For a servant? What was the world coming to?

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"What'd you find?" asked Alyse as Revlis slipped back into their camp, dropping out of her panther form back to that of a human. 

"There's not as many as we thought, and they're still scattered," replied Revlis as she bit into the sandwich Landon handed her hungrily. "Mm...the place, though? They've got that guarded real well. I did find a place like you described, and it will suffice if we can't find one better. It's a side entrance, one with just a few guards that wouldn't be hard to silently slip in through. Best case scenario, we knock out the guards, get in, do our thing and you two run while I do clean-up duty. Worst case...we have to kill the guards, the back-lash of their coercion spells lets the guy in charge know we're there, we do our thing, and we're ALL stuck doing clean-up duty."

"You forgot to add the 'they might kill us' factor," added Landon dryly.

Revlis gave him a serious look, one that chilled him to the bone. "Even if they do, I'll be the last one to go, and when I do...let's just say that building will no longer be standing after the release of the spell that binds all Dark Hunters to each other. You don't require it, because you're bound to serve regardless. I do have it, though, and if we do die they will die with us."

"That just makes me feel so much better," muttered Landon as he rubbed a hand over his eyes, trying to relieve the pain that had started there and was still growing.

"Draw out where it is, and where the guards are stationed with it," ordered Alyse as she handed her some rough paper and a carbon stick, sitting by her to watch over her shoulder. "It won't be long now...I can feel it."

_It won't be long until this is over?_ wondered Landon to himself as he sighed and continued to tend the fire, feeling as useless as ever. _Or until we're dead?_

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"Wake up," murmured Jenny as she shook the tiny girl from her bed, falling into her own hammock the moment Nicole was awake. "Your turn for watch..."

"Who's watching with me?" asked Nicole as she hurried into her boots and grabbed a scrap of cloth that served as a cape to go with her. She sent a burst of air to the lamp, blowing out the flame Jenny had lit as she waited for the reply.

"Ah...Talia...yeah....zzz..."

"Great." Nicole hurried out to the helm, finding Talia already there and waiting with a single lamp beside her. "How's the winds?"

"Well, I was hoping you could tell me," came the tired reply as the Trader sipped at a mug of strong tea she'd most likely made for herself. "Want some?"

"Yeah, sure." Nicole unhooked the tiny tankard she usually carried with her and dipped it into the giant cup, taking a taste of the brew and finding it mostly to her liking. "Hm...you make this?"

"Yeah, Granny had some hot water left boiling, so I used that."

"Oh."

They were silent for awhile, Nicole trying not to shiver as an exceptionally cold wind flew by occasionally, cutting down to the bone with invisible daggers of ice. The ship creaked and groaned with the waves, a stiff Northwest carrying them closer towards their goal even at that midnight hour. 

"Winds are shifting," commented Talia suddenly. Nicole nodded.

"Yes, but to the north," she said simply. "Which is a good thing."

"Yes, it is...though I don't know why we're headed there. It's going to get colder the farther we go, and a good winter berth is one that stays warm all winter..."

"Even if we go all the way to Summersea, it'll never get below freezing more than once or twice, and even then by the next morning it'll be more than bearable again," replied Nicole with a shrug. "Either way, I'm fine. Besides, you get too far south and it gets to be unbearably hot all the time...and there's no good breezes to fly on either."

"You amaze me sometimes," sighed Talia as she leaned on the giant wheel, using the compass on the stand in front of her to keep them straight and true. "And I envy you."

"Why's that?" asked Nicole dryly. "I'm six inches tall, no one takes me seriously, I get ordered around like I'm some child, and everything in this world is created for people 100 times my size."

"Yeah, but you get to fly," replied Talia quickly. "You can control entire storms, I've heard the stories from Tanner and Trevor. Everyone loves you, except Jack, of course, and will let you ride on their shoulder whenever you want. Granny's always cooking something just for you...trying out new mini pies and cakes just to see if she can do it. The other women dress you up like doll, you always get new clothes..."

"No matter what happens to me, I'm still an outcast though," came the soft reply. "I can't dance with you guys...I'd get trampled. I can't eat at a normal seat...you wouldn't even be able to tell I was there. Let alone reach the food and stuff. There are times...I think I'd rather be a human than a nymph."

"Being human's not all it's cracked up to be," snorted Talia with a sigh.

"Oh believe me," laughed Nicole as she rolled her eyes. "I know."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"But you guys...."

"It's not our fault, Kaitlin, daddy said so," sighed Alexa with a sniff as she coughed deep in her chest. "Ack...bleh. Anyways, he says we only get sick when we come here, so we can't come by anymore."

"Yeah," added Jess, her brown hair bound back from her overly pale face for once. "He said we can't come back until whatever it is that makes us sick here is gone."

"You're leaving us?" asked Jem mournfully as he appeared from the kitchen, Cheeks following slowly a moment later.

"Yes, we'll be back eventually, though," promised Alexa hurriedly. He threw his arms around both of them, getting a double hug in return. 

"Yeah, like we could leave this place alone for long," added Jess teasingly. "Who else is gonna liven things up around here?"

"Come back soon Lexie, Jessi," he sniffled, using his private nicknames for them. "You'll show me how to make bubbles with the hollow sticks when you come, right? Just like you promised?"

"Just like we promised."

"Are you gonna miss us Cheeks?" asked Jess teasingly as she gave him an evil look.

"Yeah, after all the 'fun times' we've had together, you're probably gonna miss us the most...we'll have to be sure to pay you extra attention when we get back!" added Alexa with a sly giggle. 

The poor boy paled at the thought of that, the twins giggling until Alexa broke back down into violent coughs that wracked her body, waving the others off as she tried to regain control of herself. 

"Well...we'd better go," said Jess as she saw her father approach the house in his wagon, waving to her impatiently from his seat. "Bye, until next time."

"Yeah, later," replied Kaitlin sadly as they scrambled back towards the wagon, climbing into the back with their father's help before it turned around and disappeared out of sight. 

"Do you think we'll see them again soon?" Kaitlin asked Cheeks sadly as Jem disappeared once again to goodness knows where. "I mean, they're my friends..."

"Everything'll be alright," said Cheeks reassuringly as he put his arm about the smaller girl's shoulders. She nodded slowly as she wiped away the stray tear that made its way down her cheek, letting him lead her back in. "Come on, it's cold out here and you're not wearing a coat."

"Alright...thanks Cheeks."

"For what?" he asked in surprise as she hugged him around the middle tightly.

"For never going away."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Bryanna slipped into town, her head covered against the light rain as she hurried along the narrow streets. Stepping into the pawn shop they'd spotted just the day before, she walked up to the counter and dumped several old, dusty volumes before the little man who stood there in surprise.

"How much for theses?"

"Well, I, uh..." He fumbled around for his eye piece, examining the books carefully after he finally got it in. Bryanna tapped her foot impatiently as he hmm and hawed for a moment, noting down several things in the ledger beside him.

"Do you know or not?" she asked after several moments, growing increasingly more impatient by the minute. "I'll take them somewhere else, should you so desire..."

"Well, they would be worth a small fortune, except for their poor condition, and crumbling pages..." The man coughed as he shrugged insolently. "However, seeing as you're in a hurry, I suppose I could offer you five golds each..."

"Make it ten, and I won't go looking for another price," said Bryanna simply, knowing he was trying to cheat her by the greedy glint in his eyes.

The man nodded, bringing out a pouch and quickly counting at the fifty gold coins and tying them up in a pouch, handing it over quickly. It was the lucky happening upon such books for the three convicts, part of the once massive library having been uncovered almost completely intact. With the proceeds from the few, entirely whole books they could find they'd get themselves the rest of the supplies for their trip north. Mainly, for now, they required mounts.

Meeting back with the other two, they discussed their options quietly under the shelter of an overhang in front of a small store.

"Three horses, that's the way we've always done it," argued Randy flatly.

"We don't have the money, or the feed to keep three, though," countered Olivia quickly. "We may not even have the money to buy three good beasts period."

"A cart," said Bryanna suddenly as she saw a farmer pass into town with his goods, a pair of sturdy donkeys pulling. "And no horses this time. We won't travel as fast, I know. But with that, we could travel at night and let them and us rest by day. Besides, whoever heard of runaway jailbirds that traveled by donkey?"

The other two glanced at each other, then Randy shrugged. "You find one, we'll take it."

"Excuse me, sir!"

Olivia and Randy watched as Bryanna put on her big, innocent mouse-eyes and began to haggle over his cart and donkeys, which, to their surprise, he turned over to her moments later for half their gold harnesses and all.

"You and your strange ways," sighed Randy as he climbed in the back, Olivia staying in the front as Bryanna looked over the beasts for a moment, then climbed up with her. 

"They may be strange, but it gets us what we need," replied the healer with a slight shrug. "We'll double back by the mansion, get our things, and go."

"Sounds good to me."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Everyone sat around the main kitchen table, the remains of dinner spread out between them as Briteyes related the last of her accounts to those around her. "And so I left Winding Circle a second time, went back to playing the streets for awhile, and ended up here."

"Let me see your lute, and maybe I can fix it for you," said Chris with a grin as she got it from the counter, handing it to him gently.

"You're gonna stay with us for a little while, right?" asked Cam as he leaned against her side, content to be with his favorite elder cousin once more. 

"At least a few days, we'll have to see after that," came the tired reply. 

"I still can't believe you were actually IN Tortall, and you never told me," said Kristen lightly as she mused over everything she had heard. "Then again, I probably would've thought you were insane, but you're still so lucky..."

"Jumping worlds ain't as great as it sounds," muttered Briteyes as she glanced over at Jon, who merely nodded in agreement. "It's not always fun and games..."

"Obviously," cut in Mike with a shrug. "Or you wouldn't have that scar running down your face and be saddled with a  psychopathic squirrel."

[That's IT! I'm not just an animal, you ingrates! I'm a freaking HUMAN BEING that's TRAPPED in this freaking BODY!]

Everyone at the table frozen except Chris, who was too deeply involved with his inspection to notice.

Briteyes started laughing when the dead silence made her stop. "Wait...you mean you guys can hear her too??"

"So that voice I just heard in my head wasn't my imagination?" asked Kristen, looking rather pale.

"No, that was definitely Silven," replied Briteyes lightly. "I told you, she's been with me since the very beginning, and I can talk to her..."

"I thought you were just joking," said Mike weakly as he reached over and poked the furry little body, only to rewarded with a quick snap of her jaws. "Hey! No biting!"

[I'll bite whenever I feel like it, pansy boy!]

"I'm getting talked down on by a squirrel," said Mike as he rose slowly, casting an odd glance behind himself before he walked out the door to his room. "That's very disturbing..."

"What's your real name?" asked Cam curiously. "And where were you in the real world?"

[Lyssa, I was one of Brite's old friends in Indy, as well as one of the original 13 to go to Tortall.] she explained calmly. [That time I was one of the Generals in the Army. Oh how low we have fallen...] She rolled her eyes dramatically, clutching her chest as if in despair as Cam chuckled at her antics.

"Well, you certainly haven't lost your theatrical flair," sighed Briteyes wryly. "What about you guys, though? How did you get to be here, living like this together? And have you met up with anyone else yet?"

"You're the first," said Jon simply with a shrug. "I assume you haven't seen anyone, either?"

"No, not a soul. Not from our world that I know, at least. I wonder how many of us there are, this time."

"It's beyond me," admitted Jon with a shrug. "But as to how we got here, well, I think it'll make you laugh."

Briteyes settled into her seat, picking up her mug as the others left there remembered it as well and chuckled along with her. Silven jumped up onto her shoulder and curled about her neck sleepily. "Go on...you have my complete and undivided attention."

"Alright, so, Mike was, I think, a little high again and attempting another one of his school book burnings on the football field..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Ok, there's a few disclaimers with this chapter. First being: the song Briteyes sings to Tris is part of a legend/lullaby thing played in Escaflowne, the anime. I don't own it, and the language is some archaic one, but I have a rough translation of the whole thing so should any wish to see it just ask.

Second: The passage that Ben reads for the Baron is from the epic poem Beowulf. Don't own that either. You wanna read it, go buy it yourself. Or go to sparknotes, that's nearly as good.

That's it for this chapter (I think). If I missed something, let me know please. ^_^ 

Review, cuz you love me! *huggles*

~CB~

'Flammable and inflammable mean the same thing...those poor ESL students.'


	17. 

*Hides as a barrage of weapons/books/stuff is thrown at her* Yes, I KNOW I haven't updated in awhile! Here's chapter 17, ok? Just put down those blades...*relaxes as the angry mob slowly dissipates* Whew....well, here's 17, as I said, and cuz you waited so long there's an extra-special surprise at the end. Thanks!

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

"Rupal, time for breakfast..." Kaitlin sleepily peeked her head into the group's math-expert's room, tilting her head in confusion when she didn't see Rupal in her bed in the corner. "Eh...? Rupal, you in here?"

"Zzz...."

Kaitlin turned quickly, stumbling over her own feet clumsily as Jem suddenly appeared to steady her from behind. "Ahh! Gees, can't even walk right....thanks, Jem."

"Oh, you're welcome. What's wrong, though?"

"Rupal's not in her bed, and usually....oh..." Kaitlin let her words trail off as she saw the desk in the other corner, the young woman sprawled over it with one arm hanging over the edge, the hand grasping an open ledger book, and the other holding a pen whose ink had long gone dry. "Hehe, awww....she looks so cute like that."

"I wasn't sleeping, I swear!" said Rupal suddenly as she jerked herself awake, roused by the presence of the other two in the room. "I'll never do it again, Mrs. Kestner, just don't-....oh, hey."

"Senior English dream?" asked Kaitlin as she recognized the name of that particular teacher.

"AP," added Rupal with a shudder. "She made it harder on me, because I was the valedictorian."

"Ah..."

"What are you two talking about?" asked Jem as he tugged on Kaitlin's sleeve. "What's 'See-nor English?'"

"Don't worry about it," replied Rupal as she gave the younger boy a quick smile, standing to stretch out slowly. "Mmmm...."

"Did you find anything?" asked Brenna as she suddenly popped her head in the door, brushing her ebony locks out of her amethyst eyes. "Even a small copper...?"

"Nothing," replied Rupal with a shrug and a frown. "Sorry...it's all gone."

"Shoot..."

"What's wrong?" asked Kaitlin as she covered Jem's ears. "Brenna, what's she talking about?"

"The money we had left over? It's all gone," replied Brenna with a weary shrug. "All we have now is the bread I was able to trade for the other day and what's in the cellar..."

"That's not going to last until spring," said Kaitlin hesitantly as she turned rather pale.

"I know," replied Brenna as Rupal just sighed.

"So...what's going to happen?"

"I don't know."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

"There's not a breeze in sight," sighed Jen as she stood with Tanner at the head of the ship, holding her hand up to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun. 

"No, it lasted just long enough to get us to the outside of the port, though," replied the present helmsman as he adjusted their coarse slightly. If they let the tide carry them in, they'd make it in a few hours, but they would block the mouth of the port for awhile while waiting for it to pull them through, and Jen doubted the other Shipmasters there would like that very much. "What now, Captain?"

"Down to the galley with all hands on board, unless you can think of something else," replied Jen with a sigh, imagining how much her muscles were going to hurt already. "Unless you can think of something else, that is. Nicole can't help us unless she's already going some sort of a breeze already going..."

"Stay in there, already!" cried Nicole as she wrestled with her pants, firmly holding one pocket shut as she cavorted about in the air. "Stupid little wisp..."

"Whatcha got there?" asked Ty as he jumped down from one of the masts, sliding part of the way down using a rope. "Another little rouge?"

"Yeah, I was gonna try and tame him later, but he won't even settle down enough to stay put for more than a few seconds at a time," replied Nicole as she suddenly let go, something the others couldn't see springing free and roving around her restlessly as she laughed and told it to stop because it tickled. "Ah, go on if you want...no, you can't stick with me if you won't let me tame you...oh, don't give me that, you little snip..."

"What are you talking to?" asked Jen in concern as Nicole continued to tease and play with some little...thing that couldn't be seen by the others. 

"Just little Wisp," replied Nicole as she rolled her eyes as if it was obvious. "My new pet breeze!"

"Could this breeze of yours, say, move us into the harbor?" asked Tanner hopefully.

"Hm...maybe...you wanna try, Wisp? Oh...sure. Ok."

"What'd he say?" asked Jen in amusement, hiding her smile behind her hand.

"That he's going to give it a few false starts, then go at it with all he's got."

"Oh, ok..."

Everyone sat around and waited as Nicole continued to call encouragements to the little twist of wind none of them could see. Despite her efforts, though, it appeared they were going nowhere for the sails still hung slack and the tide the only force that slowly dragged them on.

"Come on, now, you can do it, Wisp! Just a bit further...no, you may not. Keep that tongue of yours clean, mister! Yes, I know you don't have a tongue, you know what I mean..."

"Perhaps we should just get the crew down to the galley," suggested Tanner under his breath. "I mean, all the best docks are going to be taken if we don't get in there soon...there may not even be one left!"

Nicole sighed, as if resigned to her fate somehow. "Alright...you go ahead and do it, little Wisp. They don't think you can do it otherwise...yes, I know. We'll just get you a new one later..."

Everyone paused as the air seemed to tighten around them, and then with an audible *SNAP* a might wind blew over the deck and filled the sails with ease, bringing them into the port faster than any other ship had dared. Just as they reached a free space the winds reversed, bringing them to a steady stop.

Nicole just smiled and nodded as the strong wind came and played about her merrily, doing something with her hands that looked like she was spinning something until at last, she stopped and the wind had died completely, leaving only the hyper little Wisp of wind that played about her like a pet. 

"...do I want to know how you did that?" asked Jenny as she looked at her little (literally) friend quizzically.

"Wisp is a big sea breeze that took a liking to me, so I twisted him up over and over again until he was nothing more than a little Wisp that could be with me always," replied Nicole with a sweet smile. "Though, as you can see, it doesn't take much to get him back to his old form..."

Jenny backed away as Nicole let out a maniacal laugh, one that seemed way too out of place with her small form. "Strange little thing..."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Kristen paced the room as she usually did during lessons, letting Cam lead from the front as she went and inspected each and every person's form. Briteyes sat contentedly in a corner, watching in amusement her sister and cousin at work while she rested. It was nice not to have to go out and play and perform all day just to make a few coppers, but it wasn't going to last forever and she was going to take every bit of rest she could get while she could.

"Class," said Kristen as they ended another kata, pairing up for their usual sparring rounds. "Today we have a bit of a treat, I suppose...a friend of mine has come to visit from her home town, and hopefully will give us a demonstration of what she knows...?"

Briteyes frowned in confusion, Kristen hadn't mentioned this the night before. "You don't mean...?"

"Why not? You're probably good enough, I won't be able to even lay a hand on you, so what could it hurt?" asked Kristen as she jerked her head towards the cleared space where they were to fight. 

"I don't know..."

"She's probably just scared," taunted one of the students, sneering at her down his long nose. "Look at her, she's hardly even as big as Cam. Bet I could take her..."

Briteyes sighed and rolled her eyes. "Ok, then...I'll fight someone, but not you, Kristen, or you, Cam. Who wants to go first?"

The same young man stepped forward confidently, flashing his friends a smirk over his shoulder. "Watch close, guys! I'm about to beat a supposed Master, and I'm not even considered a man by law yet."

"Shut your mouth and get ready," ordered the performer, narrowing her eyes slightly. Arrogant brat, she'd make sure he wouldn't forget this match...

The young man fell into a cocky stance and charged at her, proving he was quick on his feet by pulling a sudden pivot and leaping up to do a roundhouse kick at her chest, but not quick enough. Briteyes just leapt back out of the way and then darted in, grabbing his wrist and kicking his other leg out from underneath him in a sweep, using the hold on his wrist to then flip him over to the ground. 

Even on his stomach and panting, she gave him no quarter. On him in a flash, she had his arms back and a knee on his spine, glancing up at Kristen calmly.

"Do you give?" asked the instructor with a mischievous glint in her eyes. That particular one had been giving her problems for some time now, and seeing him like this improved her spirits greatly.

"I give," he gasped as she dug her knee a little deeper, suddenly letting go and skipping back to stand by Kristen with a small grin on her face. 

"I didn't earn the scars that I have for nothing," Briteyes said simply as she looked over the other students with a wry smile. "Anyone else wanna go?"

The were a few shook heads, the rest just watching her numbly in surprise. Small people like her weren't supposed to be that strong, supposedly. 

"Ok, then...class dismissed."

"My dearest rose, the light of my life, how good it is to see you!" cried a noble looking fellow who came dashing across the room, about to grovel at Kristen's feet as the students dispersed when he suddenly realized Briteyes wasn't leaving. "Uh...excuse me, but I believe the dearest Mistress Kristen and I are busy, if you don't mind..."

"Actually, I do," replied Briteyes with a hard glare. "And you had better have one heck of a reason why you're touching my little sister...?"

"Sister?" The Baron rose, glancing back and forth between the two many times in confusion as he muttered to himself. "She looks nothing like the fair one of my heart...how could it be??"

"Now, if you don't mind, leave," added Briteyes as she turned him none too gently and propelled him towards the door with a mild push. "My sister and I have things to discuss." She looked up at Kristen, who had her mouth set in a line with a tick forming in the corner of her eye. "Like who the heck is he...?"

"A bloody pest that won't leave me alone," muttered Kristen through her clenched jaw.

"Oh...want me to break his nose for you?"

Kristen glanced at her friend in shock. "AMANDA!!"

Briteyes looked back at her with a wink. "What?"

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Ben sat down beside Artor after their free time was over, sifting nervously on the hard bench as the master who was to teach them stalked into the room. He resembled a heron, with his monstrously long legs and nose, and two beady little eyes set in his bald little head that seemed to take in everything at great detail.

"I do know what the Master Baron was thinking, wishing to educate a commoner, but I will put up with his antics none the less," he muttered to himself as he set several large and dusty tomes upon the table that served as a desk for the two and went over to erase the slate board of the previous lesson. "Now, seeing as you're obviously already up to Master Artor's level in both the Sums and Writing and Reading, we shall see how you are in the Sciences..."

And so began a long series of questions concerning many everyday things, such as the different states of matter, why some animals were carnivores and others herbivores, how plants grew, how animals grew, how heat and cold were transferred and many, many other things. Finally, the teacher was satisfied he had a good enough account of the extent of Ben's knowledge (though he was curious to know how a commoner knew so much) and began the lesson. 

"Now," he stated imperiously, writing a few numbers on the board. "On to figuring how much to use on buying supplies to feed and stock a summer ranch for a minor noble..."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Alyse and Revlis knelt side by side over the map of the place they'd bribed out of one of the servants. All that worked there were mutes, and unable to read or write, but that didn't mean they couldn't see or trace what they had seen on a scrap of parchment with a stick of coal. And even if the servants had planned on turning them in to their masters, they were so saturated with Unmagic that it had left the trio little choice but to terminate them after their usefulness had ended. 

The gathering was happening in an old mansion similar to the one they'd blown apart originally, and that just made their job all the easier. Landon worked at packing a gray powder with a special mage-trigger set at the front in small tubes, tying together six at a time and then setting them aside on a special cloth to keep the damp of the night off of them. Once he was finished, they completed the blood-link from the mage trigger to him, sealing them in a special wax that would disable the entire explosive from going off should it be tampered with. 

The two otherworlders dressing entirely in black, Revlis dropped into her panther form and let them place a harness on her holding the carefully wrapped and packaged magesticks, filled with the precious boom-powder Revlis had gotten her hands (or paws) on through a black-market vendor. Like shadows, they slipped through the dead of night to the mansion, easily evading the sleepy guards and dodging the mages traps Alyse only had to scry a bit to see. 

Leaving a nervous Landon to wait for them just inside the main wall, the pair padded their way into the house itself. Setting a package at the key points they'd agreed upon earlier, the two hurried as much as they dared and were soon outside again, repeating the same procedure around the base of the structure. Wordlessly they worked, the same thought on both their minds. _Please don't let Landon get caught, please don't let Landon get caught..._

No matter what, if he was found before their return the young man had been charged with the task of setting the explosives off immediately, thus terminating every life within a one hundred foot area, including their own. Not that they necessarily feared death, but it'd be nice to have a little bit of warning before their lives were snatched from them completely.

Alyse suddenly paused as they rounded another corner of the house, reaching back to stop Revlis, but not soon enough. The large panther stepped into the light, gaining the attention of the guards before them as they both immediately drew their blades. 

"Get them!" cried Alyse under her breath, as one raised his hands to his lips to whistle for help as she instinctively reached for her fan and threw it as hard as she could. His head rolled to the feet of his partner, who stood there gaping at them as Revlis leapt at his throat in a single, mighty pounce. Time seemed to slow down as a third assailant appeared, throwing daggers faster than either could count as he yelled for help.

Alyse had her second fan out instantly, batting the flying blades away as fast as she could with only one to use while jumping at the vulnerable Revlis at the same time, who had her side open to the man. Every dagger she hit aside, all but the very last as it hummed through the air and punched itself into her arm. 

"AHHH!!"

Revlis roared in fury and leapt at the man, tearing out his throat before circling back next to the kneeling Alyse. _[GET ON!]_

Gathering her strength, Revlis easily carried Alyse along the walls of the place, jumping from shadow to shadow as her passenger dropped one of the packages every time they passed one of their marked spots. Coming upon Landon's hiding spot, Alyse reached over and grabbed him by the arm as the huge panther sprang up into a tree, going from there to the top of the wall and then down into the forest below in a single, powerful leap. 

"Don't stop!" gasped Alyse as Revlis suddenly slowed her pace, glancing back at her bleeding companion with concern. "Revlis, GO!"

Landon latched his arms around Alyse's waist as Alyse held on to the harness with her good arm, the other dangling limply from the shoulder. Once they reached their appointed spot, they stopped, Landon jumping down and drawing his short sword. Plunging it as hard as he could into the ground, he focused all of his attention on building as he triggered the magesticks with a burst of power, then using the vortex of physical energy from the collapsing building as a medium through which to cleanse the entire structure and the surrounding areas. 

"Nice," murmured Alyse as the report of the explosion, and then the shudder of the land as the magical energy rushed through it reached them. "Couldn't...hm...have done it better myself."

"She gonna be ok?" asked Landon as he came and knelt beside the pair, Revlis human once more and binding the would with strips she'd torn from her own clothes. 

"Yeah, it was just a small one," replied the dark warrior as she nodded to a small dagger at their feet. "No poison, a clean cut...it shouldn't take long to heal."

"You seem to always be the only one to get hurt while we're doing our job," sighed Landon as helped the young woman to her feet, giving her a concerned once over. 

"Amanda would laugh at me if she heard you say that," muttered Alyse with a shake of her head. "I used to tease her about being the only one hurt, and she said someday it'd be my turn, just for saying it..."

"Let's get you back to the camp, and then get out of here," said Revlis as she looked back towards the mansion, seeing several others scuttling about it, trying to put the roaring flames out. "If we didn't get all the mages, well...I'd rather not stick around to find out for awhile, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, let's go."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Olivia drove the cart as Bryanna and Randy slept in the back through the night, using the light from a lantern to see the way as the moon had deserted them for once. Stopping the donkeys at a crossroad, she jumped out and brushed off the years of growth from the road markers, comparing the signs to the ones on the map until she figured out where they were. If the map was right, they'd reach their destination before dawn. 

Hoping back up, she drove the beasts on a little faster than before, partaking of some of their meager stores to keep her awake for a few hours yet. The road passed endlessly beneath their worn wheels, seeing no one else on the lonely path and passing by a few small villages they could see to the side but never actually passed through.

Cresting a tall hill not even an hour before sunrise, Olivia stopped the cart and roused her two sleeping companions. "Come on, get up! I think we're here."

"Let me see," yawned Bryanna as she crawled up beside her, taking the map and checking it for herself. Below them lay a fair sized town, not big enough to be considered a city yet, but bigger than the farming villages from earlier. On another hill above the town, just barely visible through the trees, sat an old manor with a high wall around it, a little shoddy-looking but with signs of life and movement about it in the pre-dawn twilight. "Hm, so we have...do you think we'll be able to-"

***KA-BOOM***

All three young people just stared as the one place they'd put all their hopes on finding the master at suddenly went sky-high, leaving only a mushroom-cloud in its place and a  few bricks scattered about when it was done with. They could hear the alarm as it was sounded down in the town itself, swarms of villagers racing to see what had happened armed with various tools and weapons. 

"Oh, hell no..."

"That didn't just happen, did it?" asked Randy faintly as the flames appeared, there was almost no way ANYONE could have survived that blast.

"Yeah, it did," groaned the healer with a sigh. "I swear, it was never this hard in Tortall..."

"Then again, you weren't exactly trying to clear your name with the law, you just avoided the law at all costs," pointed out Olivia with a shrug. "But that was the place, wasn't it?"

"Yep."

"And that means...the guy we want is probably dead, right?"

"Yep."

"Damn. This place is so screwed up. So...what now?"

"Dunno."

"Great."

"Yep."

"And we're still being hunted by the law."

"Yep."

"And we have no idea who else is here with us, or how to find them."

"Yep."

Silence fell between the three as Olivia shook her head and moved to the back of the cart. "Go where you like, I don't care anymore...I'm gong to sleep. This sucks far too much for me to be awake anymore."

Bryanna took the reigns, Randy climbing up beside her as they set out along the road once more. "Yep."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Cheeks woke up suddenly, fumbling about in his bed as he tried to locate exactly what it was that had dragged him from his restless sleep. Hearing another soft cry come from the other occupant of his small room, the young man rolled out of bed and stumbled over to the hammock slung in the corner. 

"Jem...wake up Jem. Come on, it's Cheeks...wake up, kid."

"Ah!" Jem sat up quickly, with such force that he overturned his bed and fell face down on the floor. "Ugn...Cheeks?"

"Right here, bud." The elder knelt beside the younger, helping him sit up in the pitch dark of their room. "You ok? Have a bad dream or something?"

"Real bad," replied Jem, still shaking slightly as he tried to regain control of himself once more. 

"Wanna talk about it?" offered Cheeks as he settled himself against the wall, taking Jem's blanket from his bed and handing it to him so he could wrap up in it and sit beside him without getting cold. "You don't have to if you don't want to..."

"It was cold," murmured Jem as he huddled into his blanket. "Cold and dark, that's all I really remember. There were screams and shots, perhaps some pain, but it was soon numbed by the cold and I couldn't feel anything at all. Not love, not kindness, not even hate...all was lost to me, I was just numb like that forever..."

"That wound be nice sometimes," replied Cheeks tiredly as he rested his head back against the wall. "Just to go numb, and not have to feel anything for awhile...but not forever. I mean, it'd be a nice break, but it'd get boring after awhile."

"Yeah..." Jem rested his chin on his thin arms, looking up at his older companion imploringly out of the corner of his eye. "Cheeks, you're not going to leave me, are you? To the cold and the darkness...would you?"

"Course not," replied Cheeks incredulously. He winked, and added, "First off, Kaitlin would have a fit and refuse to feed me anymore she'd be so upset for losing you like that. And second, I'd have to put up with Brenna's morning grumpiness by myself, and what fun would that be?"

"Yeah, and you need someone to keep you in line when Libby's not around," added Jem with a weary grin.

"Absolutely," said Cheeks with a chuckle. "So, no Jem, I wouldn't let you get away like that, not without a good fight first!"

Jem curled up closer to his best friend in the whole world, huddling into his side for protection and warmth. "...thanks, Cheeks."

"Erm....anytime."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Jenny sat on the railing of the deck, giving out the assignments for the day's bartering and trading so they could restock the ship off the list she held in her hand. "Trev and Nicole, off to the weaver's guild, see what you can pick up there. Nothing but their best silk, anything less and we won't be able to make much off it. Granny and Jack down to the farmer's corner, get as many fresh goods as you can with the bit I gave you. I'm not expecting much, just enough to put a little variety in what we've got on board. Tanner and Ty, restock our repair supplies and hire workers for anything we can't do ourselves. Just the basics, mind you, nicks and dents that won't hurt the handling of the ship I don't mind, just make sure she'd as seaworthy as she was when we got her. Talia and Gwen, off to the jewelers with you, you know what to do there..."

Gwen chuckled to herself as she pattered along beside her Trader friend, clearing her throat before trying out several high-pitched, tear-laden voices that dripped with sugary sweetness.

"Please, mister, for my aunt's sake....no, that one didn't work to well last time. Hm...sir, it's very pretty, and I'm sure  you understand my mother will beat me if I make less than a certain profit, and the misery beast I bought it from cheated me out of every copper I had..."

"I can't believe that actually works," sighed Talia with a grin as they sidled up to the first jeweler's stand, the elder Trader remaining in the background as Gwen moved towards the front with a wink.

"Regardless, it still does," she replied flippantly as she composed herself for a moment, turning to the stall keeper a moment later with big, round, teary eyes. "Sir, if it wouldn't be too much trouble..."

*thirty minutes later*

"How much?" asked Talia as they walked away from the stall with the empty box, stowed away under her arm. 

"Four a the big, double-heavy gold ones, majas I think they're called, a couple regular gold astrels, and some silvers," replied Gwen with a big grin. "Jenny-kins is gonna be SOO happy with me..."

"Jenny-kins?" asked Talia, looking rather confused. "Wait...you mean the Captain? Why'd you call her that?"

"Same reason I call you Tali-kins when you're not around," replied Gwen with another grin. "Just cuz I can."

"Oi."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Chris walked in from work to find Briteyes tending a pot of soup over the stove and watching a loaf of bread as it browned in the oven at the same time, Cam setting the table with Kristen's help and the other guys nowhere in sight. 

"I can't believe you're letting her work when she's a guest in this house," said the trader woodworker with a mock glare at the other two. "Guests aren't supposed to have to do work, you know."

"She's not a guest, she's family," retorted Kristen with a grin. "In more ways than one, really..."

"Which is all the worse, seeing as she's been on her own for a couple a months at least, and you can't even find it in you to be nice to her for a couple of days," replied Chris in an admonishing tone of voice. "Tsk, tsk..."

"I offered to make dinner, Chris," cut in Briteyes before the argument could go on, cutting off Kristen with a look. "Come on, you can carry the pot over to the table for me since you're so insistent that I limit the work I do around here."

"Hey, I wasn't referring to myself, you know..."

"Who cooked dinner?" asked Mike as he suddenly stuck his head in the kitchen from the side corridor. "The soup and stuff, I mean."

"Amanda," replied Cam with a proud grin. 

"Oh, ok, then it's safe. Come on guys! They're not giving her the chance to poison us again!" Mike walked the rest of the way into the kitchen with Matt and Jon right on his heals, all of them taking their places at the table in a heartbeat. 

Briteyes looked at Kristen, who's eye had started to twitch. Uh oh...

"Now, I KNOW that wasn't some sort of lame reference to the last meal I made, was it?" asked the lone regular female resident to the house as she sidled up between Mike and Matt with a hand on the back of each of their chairs.

"It wasn't a meal, it was a pile of toxic waste formed into food-shapes," replied Mike around a bite of soup and bread as he had immediately served himself and was digging into it like a starved man. "Mm...not bad, though it's a bit too salty."

*THWAP*

"OW! Hey, what was that for?!"

"Idiot..."

"Play nice, you guys," warned Chris as he picked up the package he'd set aside when he'd first walked in the door. "C'mere lil sis, I got something I want you to see."

"Coming...what is it?" Briteyes watched as he unwrapped her lute, handing it back to her with the crack so firmly sealed you couldn't even tell it had been there at one time. 

"Here you go," he said proudly as he watched her check it over for herself. "Good as new."

"I'll say...Chris, I can't even tell where it was!" Briteyes quickly tuned it up again and played a few chords, marveling that the sound hadn't changed in the least. "Thanks, man...how much do I owe you?"

"Nothing," replied Chris as he sat down and served himself from the pot into his own bowl. "Having you here with us is thanks enough. Besides this little fella, that is." Chris smiled as Silven suddenly appeared from nowhere, scampering up his shoulder onto the table where she could get at the bread and soup. 

Briteyes just sighed and rolled her eyes indulgently. Chris still didn't seem to get the fact that Silven wasn't a PET, but a human in animal form. Strumming a few more chords, she settled easily into a familiar pattern and let the melodies carry her for awhile in a way she hadn't been able to let them for the last few days. Her flute and panpipes were fun to play, but it wasn't quite the same...

She paused to roll up her sleeves as the length of them was well over the tips of her fingers as they belonged to Kristen and not her. Cam paused in his eating as most of her forearms where opened to view, calling to his cousin softly.

"Amanda...?"

"Yeah?" She looked up at him questioningly, following his gaze back to her arms. "What's the....oh." She felt her lips twist into a slight, wry grin. On the front of her right arm was the long scar from the battle she couldn't remember. Both were marked across the back above the elbow as if she'd been whipped and it had missed its intended target a few times. There as another across the back of her right wrist, and a final one that suggested her left hand had once been punctured in someway. "Life leaves you with marks from time to time, kid, it happens..."

Jon studied her for a moment. "Some of those...the one in the middle of your left hand, that's from Tortall, isn't it?"

"I'm surprised you remembered," admitted the performer with a shrug.

"How could I forget? The stories they told about that afterwards...and they say I'm an idiot! Why the hell you went after her, and ended up with an arrow through your hand..."

"Oh, shut up..."

"Went after who?" asked Matt as he looked up curiously.

"No one, don't worry about it..."

"Oh, come on."

"I wanna know, too," added Cam.

"You are a guest, and it would be fair repayment," said Chris with a teasing grin.

"Besides, Jon already knows, so it has to be safe to tell us," added Kristen. 

"Hm...fine. So, the Scanrans attacked our home one day when I wasn't there..."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Ben sat beside Artor on the roof one night, their teacher muttering to himself as he adjusted the knobs and dials on a tube of wood with a mirror at one end and several glass lenses placed along its length on the inside. Earlier, the master had taken apart the whole contraption and allowed them to help him put it back together again that they might understand how it worked. Finding himself satisfied at last with the imaged in the viewing-hole, he beckoned for the boys to come forward with an impatient wave of his hand. 

"Come, you two, haven't got all night..."

"Yessir," they replied as one as they trotted towards him obediently. Not that either one felt like being that well-behaved, but they'd learned early on the Master was quick to anger and slow to forgive, much to the chagrin of the backs of their hands which he regularly struck with fresh sticks cut from the bushes outside the room. 

"Look there, Master Artor," he said as he stepped aside, Ben waiting patiently for his turn as the noble boy took in his fill of the huge moon now looming so close in his view he felt as if he could touch it. "Easy now, don't bump it off where I have it set..."

"Wow..." Artor felt his heart thud deep in his chest as he blinked in surprise. "It looks so...big, sir."

"The moon is even larger than it appears to you now," replied the learned man a bit snobbishly. "Some have calculated it to be at least a third the size of our own planet, young master."

"A THIRD? How can that be?? It could not be more than the size of my father's lands, if not only the size of his house."

"Perhaps in your eyes, young sir, but say day you shall things are rarely what they seem...if you would move aside, now? This lesson is also for your fellow student, as little as it may assist him later in life."

"Yessir."

Ben stepped forward eagerly, carefully putting his eye to the viewing hole and gasping in wonder at the glowing globe before him. He could see the craters and the dark patches that were scattered about at random, some larger than others. He blinked as a flash of gold suddenly blew by, jerking back to stare up at the sky in surprise. "Whoa!"

"What was that?" asked Artor as he pointed to the dying trail of light that had zoomed across the sky only seconds before.

"A shooting star!" replied Ben excitedly. "Close your eyes, and make a wish!"

"What? Why would I do that?"

"Cuz shooting stars are the tears of an angle trapped across from her lover forever, and for every tear she sheds, she shall grant a wish to a mortal that they may be happier than she," replied the servant quickly. "Hurry, sir, before it's too late..."

"Where did you hear such a ridiculous tale?" asked the teacher in a bored manner as he studied the sky indifferently. "An angel that grants wishes...what rubbish..."

"It's not rubbish!" replied Ben stubbornly. "My sister told me so!"

"And is your sister always right?" drawled the teacher as he turned his back suddenly, picking up the contraption to transport it back inside. "I doubt so. Class dismissed."

"What did you wish for?" asked Artor with a conspiratorial wink as he sidled up to his friend on the way back inside. 

"Can't tell you, otherwise it won't come true," replied Ben with a shrug. Inside, though, he felt his heart twist as he remembered his wish. _I wish to be free..._

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Alyse lay back against a tree as Revlis knelt beside her, bandaging her arm once again after having a knife slung into it just a few nights before. The three of them rested at a campsite about a day's ride from the unmagic mage's mansion and town. All scans and searches had led to the same conclusion: none had made it out alive, and the entire area had been effectively cleansed of the taint.

Still, after resting long enough to catch their breath and make sure Alyse wasn't in any real danger, it was time to move on and find something to do once again. 

"How're you feeling?" asked Landon as he sat across from her, putting a bowl with some chunks of meat and toasted bread in her lap and laying a raw leg bone with the meat still on it from a deer next to Revlis.

"Not funny, Landon," she growled, barring her fangs as he quickly took it back and replaced it with a dinner much like Alyse's. "Giving me raw meat, like I'm some kind of animal..."

"I'm fine," replied Alyse so as to cut off Landon's ready retort, giving them both scolding looks as they bowed their heads like naughty children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "Though, really sore. Could you make me some of that special tea stuff that numbs the pain?"

"Coming right up."

"Whipped to a T," murmured Revlis as she leaned in a little closer, a teasing smile on her face. "How ever do you do it, Alyse?"

"For one, by being relatively nicer all that time, rather than growling like some panther," replied the mage girl with a wry twist of her lips. "Though, I wonder who in the world that could be..."

"Not a clue. I wouldn't asked Landon though, he can be a rotten liar about things like that."

"Riiight..."

"So, where to next?" asked Landon as he came over moments later, his own plate in one hand and Alyse's mug in the other. "South, I hope, I hear the north gets a bit nasty in the winter times..."

"Hm...I'll have to do a scan first, and then we'll take it from there," she replied lightly as she sipped at the steaming mug. "Elck...never will get used to the taste of this stuff."

"Honey's good for sweetening it a bit, but we don't have any," said Revlis regretfully as she moped up the last of her gravy with her toast. "Mm...not bad, Landon. Though I still say you should have added more pepper..."

"No!" replied the two off-worlders at the same time, pained expressions on their faces. Revlis had a taste for the hot spices that were common to this area, and needless to say there were few who appreciated that taste. 

"Fine, fine, don't bite my head off..."

Alyse settled back against the trunk of the tree to start her search, largely ignoring her companions as Landon teased Revlis about her cooking skills (or lack there of) and the panther woman in reply threatened to tear his throat out several times over. Carefully she searched for an indeterminable amount of time, weaving back and forth until she fell a tug not far off from where they were. Not entirely active, it wasn't passive either, and she decided it would be their next target from there.

"Found one," she murmured as she opened her eyes again, picking up the cup Landon had set by her knee as usual and sucking down the water until it was dry. "Ah...much better. We're going north."

Landon groaned as Revlis just laughed at his plight. The poor boy hated the cold, nearly as much as he hated unmagic. "Come on," she gasped as she wiped a tear from her eye, still chuckling some at his dismayed countenance. "Get some sleep, we'll have a long ride ahead of us tomorrow.

Grumbling to himself, the young man collected the dishes and rinsed them off before doing as she said. Life just wasn't fair.

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

"Man, that was our only hope!" wailed Randy as he laid on his bed, curled up in a little ball like a child. "What are we going to do now?! There's still a bounty on our heads, and more than a few people who want us dead more than they do alive..."

"While I'm not so sure about that last part, you do have a point," muttered Olivia in frustration. "We were so close...just a few hours earlier, and we might have been able to pin him down completely."

"Wishful thinking doesn't help," pointed out Bryanna bluntly. "And it's not the point right now. We can't stay here more than tonight, and after that we're going to have to make ourselves scarce around towns and villages again for awhile. With our shrinking supplies and almost empty purses, I'm wondering what the heck we're gonna do once that's all gone."

"You were a thief once, right?" prodded Randy immediately. "Steal some stuff for us, and we could live off of that."

"Ok, first off, we're already wanted by the law and if I'm caught, that would mean instant death sentence," sighed Bryanna tiredly. "Second, I was with professional thieves at the time, not some half-rate mages who are wanted for something they didn't do. Believe me, I might still be able to pick locks, but that's about it. Something about when you go to these places...you can only used the skills they grant you here, plus some of the skills you bring with you from your home world. Visits to other worlds and skills gained there...well, most of them don't stick with you too long."

"Sounds pretty useless to me," muttered Randy under his breath, rolling his eyes. "What good is it to go to other worlds, then..."

*BANG**BANG**BANG*

"OPEN UP, THIS IS THE CITY GUARD!"

"Holy crap," growled Olivia as she quickly shoved the dresser in front of the doorway, grabbing the sack she hadn't yet unpacked and heading for the window as quickly as possible. "Come on! Unless you want your butt dragged back to jail again..."

The door splintered behind them just as they managed to make it out onto the roof, Olivia leading the way as she quickly, but carefully, skirted along the edge until she came to a drainpipe at the corner. They could hear other guards scrambling after them, calling to those on the ground, and only ran all the further.

Dropping to the ground first, Olivia froze two who got too close in place and sprinted towards city streets with her two companions in tow. Through the alley ways and down deserted streets they ran, doggedly chased by those behind them who refused to give up. 

Grabbing their arms, Bryanna hauled them into a dark nook just as they lost sight of their pursuers, motioning for them to remain still and silent as the guards passed them by at a full charge. Waiting until the sounds of thudding boots and jingling weapons were completely gone, they finally relaxed after what seemed like ages, Olivia taking the lead once more.

"Come on," she whispered as they crept back out into the open, sticking to the shadows as much as possible. "We've got to get out of here, and now."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Brenna tried to move about as silently as possible as she dressed herself entirely in the black over clothes she'd been putting together for the better part of a week. If everything went as planned tonight, it wouldn't matter anyways. All they needed was just enough goods to start over completely in a new place far away, or enough to restart the farm here somehow. Not that either amount was small by any means, but she was the ex-queen of thieves in Corus, and that should  count for something indeed. 

And in reality, even should her conscience actually decide to bother her for once about it, she didn't exactly have a choice. The farm, and those living on it, were dying. It was a very slow, gradual decline, but it would lead to an eternal sleep in the end. Cheeks was having a relapse with his lungs trying to be coughed from his body, Libby was nearly mad with grief over the loss of her bunnies, Kaitlin's patience was wearing thing with the grief she continued to get over the state of the meals, and Rupal was driving herself insane trying to find just one last copper that wasn't there. If they didn't find a way out of it soon...Brenna shivered as she slipped her sandals one, covering them with a special black wrap as well. 

Checking her supplies, she had a few kitchen knives that would do in the place of daggers, a few impromptu lock picks, a padded grappling hook, some rope, and a sack for all her little goodies. That would have to do, even though it was all second-rate compared to her old stuff, for now.

Slipping out of the sleeping house, -except for Jem and Cheeks, who were awake as they were most nights with Jem's nightmares- the one-time mistress of rouges started down the road to the town. Beware, those of even moderate wealth, the Vixen was on the loose again.

Unfortunately, this Vixen had no idea what she was getting herself into.

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Tyler jumped spread-eagle towards the main mast, grabbing the ropes halfway down and racing back up it as fast as he could to get in a more defendable position. Talia followed close behind, managing to land farther up than he did and shortening the distance at the same time. Up and up they went, Tyler finally grabbing one of the ropes and using it to swing on to one of the side-ladders instead. Scrambling down the webbing as fast as he could, he was up another sail only moments later, and the elder girl followed with a will. Suddenly bounding up as high as she could, she touched him on his shoulder before racing away once again.

"Tag! You're it!"

"Aw, man...here I come!"

Nicole watched silently from Gwen's shoulder, her shoulders crossed and a more than slightly annoyed look on her face. "Bloody trader..."

"Which one, there's over a dozen on board, you know," replied Gwen, looking up from the horror book Granny had lent her. Following Nicole's gaze, she smirked knowingly. "Ohh...you know, I think you're just jealous, Nicole."

"Yeah, and you know, I think you're a fluff-brained moron, but you don't see me bringing it up a lot," retorted the nymph sourly.

"Tsk, tsk...is that really the best you can come up with?" Gwen shook her head mockingly, Nicole growing even (if it truly was possible) redder than before as the insult was heaped upon injury. "I'm ashamed to call you a fellow sailor. We're supposed to have dirty mouths and minds you know, not fluffish and jealous ones."

"Speak for yourself," she snapped in reply as she looked back at the pair glumly. "It's not my fault he can't catch me when we play tag. Goodness knows he's tried, but when I slow down too much and concentrate more on letting him win rather than escaping I tend to run into things... It's not fair! She's replacing everything in their lives that I once was. I just don't get it, aren't as I good as her? The only thing she's got on me is the fact that she's normal sized, and I should have enough magic to make up for that!"

"Great, so now we're reduced to a whining sailor that's fluff brained and jealous," sighed Gwen dramatically. "Oh what ever shall we do..."

"Oh, shaddup."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Briteyes curled up on her pallet in front of the fireplace, content with that as there really wasn't anywhere else comfortable enough to sleep. She and Kristen couldn't share a bed, they'd tried that long ago on one of their trips a few years back and usually spent the night fighting for the covers and such. She wasn't going to even consider sharing beds with anyone else, and as it was the floors in any room were too cold to comfortably sleep on unless they were beside an alternate heat source, so thus here she was.

Silven curled up on the corner of the thin mattress of blankets, her big tail hiding her fairly well from view of the others. In such a way, they slept, undisturbed by either men or dreams for hours at a time

Around midnight, Chris came sliding down the ladder, an exhausted look on his face as he began to prepare for himself a cup of warm milk with honey and cinnamon in it. Though he tiptoed around the place, he didn't worry about waking either one of their guests up as they hadn't so much as stirred since they'd come into his sight. Which in a way, was rather frightening, for if not for their breathing one could easily mistaken their still forms as corpses.

Settling in a chair beside the glowing embers of what was left of the fire, Chris sipped his little concoction and basked in the warmth there. He'd had trouble sleeping for some reason, and when that happened he usually set himself up as he was now. A cup of warm milk, a blanket, and the fire at his feet until he got sleepy again. It was nice, being free like this and with no one to answer to, really. And while he did miss a lot of people from back home...well, he'd get to see them again someday, so he couldn't complain. 

Feeling his eyes get heavy, and the warmth of the fire sinking deep into his bones, Chris was about to fall asleep when something not quite right jerked him out of his dreams. Sitting up quickly, he shook his head to clear it of the fogginess of sleep and stumbled to his feet. Looking around, he could see nothing out of the ordinary at first glance, but still...

He moved closer to Briteyes, glancing down at her in puzzlement when something caught his eye. She had gone completely rigid, her hands spasmodically clenching and unclenching handfuls of her blanket as if in great pain while a single tear rolled down her face. She made not a sound, hardly even breathing through her clenched jaw. 

"Amanda...?"

Silven had awoken and was now frisking around her dearest friend worriedly, attempting wake her and glancing up at Chris beseechingly in intervals. Kneeling down, still rather shocked, he took her shoulders by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake, calling her name as he did. 

"Amanda...come, 'Manda, it's Chris, wake up...."

The small performer suddenly jerked herself awake, breaking out of his hold as she rolled across the floor and came up in a crouch with a haunted look on her face. "NO!"

"Amanda...??"

Briteyes blinked a few times, then sighed as she slumped over where she sat, the horrific sights and sounds she'd witnessed in her nightmarish dreams fading from her memory as quickly as they'd come upon her in her sleep. "Chris...is that you?"

"Yeah, are you ok?" He came and sat beside her, hesitantly putting a hand on her shoulder. Silven was already around her neck, crooning softly in her squirrelish voice. 

#Briteyes, just relax, it was only a dream...#

"Heh, only a dream....except I can never remember what it's about," replied Briteyes gruffly, reaching up towards her face as she felt something warm and wet slide across her skin. Encountering it with her fingers, she brought them back in front of her eyes. Blood. Her scar from the corner of her left eye out had split open again. Sighing, she steadied herself and answered her Trader friend lightly, though her face was shielded from his searching eyes with a curtain of dark brown-streaked silver hair. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine, Chris. Just go back to sleep, ok?"

"You're bleeding, though! Amanda, something's got to be wrong..." protested Chris as he saw her wipe it up with her sleeve. "What's going on??"

"It as just a dream. Nothing more." The performer turned her back to him completely, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders tightly. "Please, Chris...don't go get the other or anything, I'm fine. I just have strange dreams. A lot."

"Well...if' you're sure..." the trader wavered indecisively, slowly standing once more. 

"I am. Just promise me you won't say anything about it later."

Chris paused, even more confused than ever. "...why?"

"They might worry, you know? And ask me about it a lot...you get frustrated after awhile when people start to fuss over something you can't even remember."

"Oh."

"So...do you promise."

"Yeah, I guess." 

Briteyes watched her friend ascend the ladder as Silven curled up in the crook of her arm, a slightly accusatory look on her face. 

#You shouldn't have made him promise that.#

"He'd have told Kristen otherwise."

#I don't see what the problem is there...I could just as easily tell her in the morning, and you'd never know about it.#

"Except I would, eventually. She'd come asking questions...I can't even remember them, Silven! I don't know what I'm so afraid of..." Briteyes sighed in frustration, laying back down and snuggling into her warm nest once more. "I just can't remember..."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Artor followed Ben up and down the halls of the mansion, pestering him over and over again as the servant boy carried out his chores for the last half of the afternoon. Just because he had a few special privileges being connected with the Master's son, that didn't mean he could slack all the time and often times more was expected of him because of it.

"Come on, there has to be something you're not telling me," went on Artor as Ben scrubbed the floor at his feet silently. "Commoners, especially servants, do not have access to the kinds of knowledge you have managed to attain."

"This one did," came the short, simple reply.

"But really, where did you come from before here? You've never talked about your life before becoming my father's servant, so you had to start somewhere, right? Where was it? Somewhere to the south? That would explain why your skin is a little darker than everyone else's here, but supposedly all southern lords are loath to educate their underlings, so that wouldn't make sense. And I doubt you're from the north, you're not pail and blonde like most of them are." The boy paused in his monologue, looking at Ben expectantly. "Well?"

"Well what?" replied the servant with a shrug. "If you'll excuse me sir, I have a lot of work to do, so if you'd kindly step aside...?"

"Oh no, you're not getting off with this that easily," replied Artor with a defiant shake of his head. "There's something you're not telling me? Servants should always obey their masters in everything, and so I ask you as your master where is it you learned all this?"

"If it was to put on any one person, it'd be my sister," replied Ben with a shrug after a moment's thought. "She used to sit with me most nights and help me with anything that I got stuck on in school work. Mom was too busy with her work, and dad never got home until late, so she helped me most of the time."

"You make it sound like you were free or something," muttered Artor under his breath in puzzlement. "Say, Ben...where are you from, again? Or, how did you get here, rather? If you were free originally, how did you end up as a servant? Your dad didn't owe mine a lot a money, did he?"

"No, my dad doesn't even know that yours, or this place, exists," replied Ben dryly, rolling his eyes as he did. "It's not simple like that ok? So...just let it go."

"But I wanna know! If your sister's so smart, where is she now? If she's anything like my father says most young girls are, I'll bet she left you and became a whore. Bet you haven't even seen her in years, and she's dead in some ditch along side of the road..."

Ben stood up abruptly, knocking over the bucket in his haste to get away before he pummeled the other young man to death. Time had taught him, though, that harsh words and physical reactions to the Master's son's caustic and brutal words would only earn him a sore face or back, depending on which the boy decided to strike at the time for his punishment. Anger continued to color his vision red as he rushed to his room, throwing himself onto his bed and punching the thin pile of blankets for all he was worth. 

"She's wasn't a whore!" he muttered to himself as he breathed deeply, trying to gain control of himself once more. "She was an honest person! One that cared about everyone, and laid down her life for me! She would never ever do something like that, she'd never leave me if she could help it..."

Feeling the tears begin to fall down his face, Ben buried his head in the blankets and cried until he could cried no more. But in the end, he was still alone and had no way to get home.

He wanted his sissy back.

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Alyse and Landon continued along at an easy canter, Revlis riding behind them for once as she continued to keep an eye out for any who might decide to follow them. The farther they went, the dryer it became until they could no longer find small sources of water along the roads or in small streams that had once run in the woods. Everything was bone dry, and Alyse could tell just by looking that one spark and the whole place would go up like a torch. 

Coming upon a large group, they slowed they pace and moved to the side of the room, going at a fast walk so as to pass them more quickly. Revlis suddenly spotted something, though, and veered off into the woods. 

"Be back later, guys! Don't worry, I'll be able to find you!" she called as she road out of sight in the blink of an eye.

"Wonder what that was about," mused Landon as he turned to watch her leave before facing front once more. "Crazy cat-girl..."

"She said she'd be back, and she always is, so I wouldn't worry about it," replied Alyse simply with a shrug. "Come on, there's the head of the group up there, we'll be around them in just a moment..."

"Ho, there!"

The pair turned to see a familiar man riding at the head of the column, waving to them lightly as Alyse turned her horse and approached cautiously. "Good evening, sir!"

"Good evening to you, too!" he replied with a polite nod. Suddenly the mage girl placed him as the man Revlis had spoken with that one time on their journeys not long ago, her eyes widening slightly as she smiled. Looking back over her shoulder, she quickly spotted the young red-head that had been with him as well and nodded to herself. Yeah, it was him alright. "So, you do remember me. Incase my name was not in that memory, I'm Nikolaren Goldeneye."

"We remember you quite well, Master Nikolaren," replied Landon with a slight bow in the saddle, coming to ride at Alyse's side as the few dedicates riding with the man as well as a few wealthy-looking individuals listened to the conversation with interest. "What might you be doing here this time of year? Surely not for pleasure, sir, with the forest fires we have heard of as of late."

"Actually, we come to find a way to hopefully put an end to them, as well as bring an end to the drought that plagues this area," replied elder mage with a nod. "And yourselves?"

"A hunt," replied Alyse, looking him straight in the eye.

"You don't say? What sort?"

"Small game," she replied with a slight shrug. "Nothing dangerous in the least."

"I see. Duke Verdis, sir, theses are two acquaintances of mine from some of my travels, and as it would be beneficial to catch up with them for awhile, do you think her Ladyship would mind too extra guests for just on evening?"

"As it is just for one, I do not see why not," replied the Duke with a gracious nod as he look in the pair curiously. "Though, I am wondering how two such strange mages, as I'm assuming that's what they are, came to know you, Niko?"

"Merely a touch of luck," replied the mage enigmatically as he turned back to the two who now rode beside him at the front of the column. "Where's your third companion, young Revlis?"

"Around close by," replied Alyse with a shrug. "She goes off on her own when she feels the need, but she'll be back. If not before we leave your presence again, then soon after that."

"I felt something rather recently, a trembling of all magics and several lives that were squelched at once as a great darkness of decimated in one fell swoop," went on Niko in an even lower voice, making sure no one else near them could hear. "You wouldn't happen to know what it was, would you?" The two glanced at each other, a knowing look passing between them as they did. He was referring to their most recent adventure, or at least the end part of it.

"Of course not," replied Alyse with a wry grin. "However, if I did, I imagine it should be something like this..."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Olivia huddled with Randy and Bryanna under some dense bushes, the last signs of their pursuers having died off hours ago, but still not being confident enough to check for sure yet. They'd been spotted a couple miles out by the tower guard and had been trying to outrun the rest since then. That was six hours ago, and needless to say the ex-mage students were exhausted. 

Greedily gulping down the last of the water from his water skin, Randy wiped his mouth on his shirtsleeve and looked at the other two imploringly.  

"No," said Bryanna firmly, but quietly as she noticed his gaze. "You sucked it down, so you can do without until we find more."

"But I'm thirsty..."

"Shh," warned Olivia with a weary glare. "I think the coast is clear, though..." Glancing at Bryanna, they both nodded at the same time before seizing Randy by the arms and tossing him out into the open.

"Please don't shoot!" he cried, hunching over in shock....only to find he was alone. When the cries of pain or shouts of victory didn't come, the two women stuck their heads out slowly to find an indignant Randy waiting for them.

"Gee, thanks guys," he said mockingly as he pulling some leaves from his hair. "Didn't know you cared."

"What, did you think one of us was going to be the first to check?" asked Olivia lightly as she dusted herself off. "You're the expendable one."

"Expendable!"

"Hush, we need to get moving," said the healer girl, hanging Randy a set of saddlebags to carry, leaving one haversack for her and Olivia each. "It's hard to say, as we didn't exactly stick to the road last time, but I bet the next place isn't more than a few days ride, or a week's walk, from where we are now."

She motioned to the map they'd followed in the first place, a clearly marked spot not far from where they were that obviously bore some sort of importance. Olivia took it from her and studied it for a moment, nodding to herself as she let the other take the lead once more.

"Sounds good to me."

"Hush, someone's coming!" They all dove back under cover again, the road beside them suddenly filling with a rather substantial group heading down in the same direction they were. "Hey...is that Master Niko?" murmured Randy quietly. "I bet he could-"

"Shut up!" hissed Olivia, clamping a hand over his mouth roughly. "I don't care if we know them, they're still on the mage's council and probably know we're wanted by their Justice System!"

"She's right," murmured Bryanna, starting to worm away from the caravan backwards through the brush. "Let's get out of here while we can."

"But, Master Niko-"

"I. Said. No." The firm look in Olivia's eyes made Randy sigh and nod slightly. "Good, let's get going."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Cheeks sat on his bed as he did most nights with Jem, working on attempting to mend some old harnesses by candlelight until the boy would drop off for a few hours around dawn. It was around that time when there came a pounding at the front door, the elder one scrambling to his feet and stumbling down the stairs to meet a sleep-dazed Kaitlin at the bottom of the stairs.

"What's going on?" he asked as he paused there for a second.

"I don't know," she replied with a shrug. "Just woke up, you know."

"What's all the noise for?" called Libby from the top of the stairs, she and Rupal sticking their heads out of their rooms at the same time. 

"We don't know!" replied Kaitlin loudly, yawning behind her hand. "Do you?"

"Why would I be asking if I did?!"

"Oh, right...sorry!"

"Whatever..."

"I'll go check," offered Cheeks as he turned with a shrug.

Shuffling to the front, he opened the door to be confronted with a few townsfolk, all bearing lanterns and looking solemn-faced indeed. Jem peaked around him curiously, a bit of fear evident on his face as he drew back in his bigger friend's shadow. "Ah...can I help you sirs?"

"Yar, we be wonderin' in that black-tressed farmer gal belongs to ya," replied one while chewing on a stub of a pipe. "Got eyes a violet, 'bout yea tall. She live here?"

"You mean Brenna? Yeah, she does, let me get her real fast..."

"No, don't bother," replied one of the others with a sneer. "She's in town right now, on trial in fact."

"On trial?!" Kaitlin appeared at Cheeks side in puzzlement. "For what, not being able to grow her crops? Good lord, people, everyone has a bad year every now and then..."

"For attempted thievery," cut in the second one with a triumphant look on his face. 

"Thievery? You have the wrong person then," stated Rupal as she appeared beside Cheeks, rather rumpled in her sleep clothes, but firm none the less. "Brenna is one of the most honest people I know."

"She was caught in the act," replied the first one with a shrug.

"An' ye want to know what her sentence will be?" added his rude companion with a malicious glee. Libby, who'd finally made it downstairs, glared at him impotently. She really wanted to smack that smirk right off his face and into Lower Earth Orbit.

"What?" asked the resident chef with a worried look on her face. "Please don't tell me you're-"

"Death," he said simply with a leer, tilting his head to the side and holding up his hand as if he were suspended in midair by his neck. "By hanging."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Nicole boredly twirled her winds around herself as Jenny and Trevor took part in some major trade negotiations for some mage items they were going to transport back south. She, once again, was excluded due to her size and the fact that 99.9% of the human populace didn't realize creatures like her existed. It wasn't her fault she was so freaking tiny, the bloody mage who was in charge, whoever it was...she's strangle him, if she ever got the chance.

Or try to, anyways. She doubted her hands, or even her arms, would reach.

Glancing down at the water below, the little nymph got an idea, scooping up some of the water with a flick of the wind and mixing it into the winds themselves with a few well-turned revolutions. Then spinning it carefully, she brought it up onto the railing and played with it there, etching out designs in the salt-stained wood. When she'd used up the available space, she moved on, moving them around again and again until she got bored with that and moved them to the deck of the ship.

There, she added another two or three, setting them against each other in some messed up version of gladiators, using mini-waterspouts instead of people with weapons. And while it was a lot less bloody, and no one technically died, it wasn't all that interesting either. After they crashed into each other for a while they kind of lost momentum and after awhile would either need a boost of some sort or they'd die out. Deciding to let most of them go, she kept the original one and continued to pull it idly in circles around herself, merely to pass the time.

"What the hell happened to the deck?!"

Nicole looked up to see Jenny, Trevor, and another crew member come back on board, the wood flooring obviously a lighter shade than it had been before they'd left. Guiltily remembering her waterspouts, Nicole quickly got rid of her last one over the side of the ship and tried to look at them innocently. "Well, I..."

"Someone scoured the deck," said Jenny after a moment, looking up in surprise. "Look, you guys, it's the natural coloring off the wood...who did that?"

"Me!" replied Nicole quickly with a grin when she realized her random wind-times had done some good for once. "Though...that wasn't exactly my intention...that's not a bad thing, is it?"

"Nope, not this time," replied Jenny with a grin. "Come on, I'll show you what we got."

"Yay!"

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Cam stood in the slight crouch he tended to favor when fighting, facing off against some of the elder students in Kristen's afternoon Advanced class. It was a defensive position, but one that he could easily counter attack from as well as long as he relied on the speed he'd honed as well as he could. 

Skipping back from the first attack, he let the fist swing by and grabbed it with his hand, using it and his opponents momentum to turn and flip him over his shoulder. Stepping back quickly out of range, he waited for the elder boy to get back up patiently.

"Do you yield?" asked Kristen simply as the other boy shook out his clothes.

"Nope," he replied, giving Cam and steely glare.

"Then continue."

Cam waited for him to attack again, a full charge this time that he wouldn't be able to dodge left or right from. So instead he spun on the balls of his feet at the last minute and dropped to his knees, grabbing the guys fist and the front of his shirt to sent him flying over his back. Rising quickly, they both traded a few light blows back and forth, more testing the other for a weakness rather than trying to dominate each other. 

That didn't last long. Cam's opponent suddenly caught his arm and locked it in place with his own, forcing him into close-range combat, which he wasn't as good at. Blocking as many as the hits as he could, Cam watched and waited as he'd been taught. Despite the sore stomach and dizzying blow to the head he received, the other boy suddenly drew his arm back to far, leaving himself completely open and that's when Cam struck. Straight down, his head, neck, shoulder joint, chest, and stomach with a final blow to his hip with his knee (Cam wasn't low enough to hit him where it would really put him out) he managed to free himself before darting back in for one more blow to the chest and effectively ending the match by knocking the wind from the elder boy.

"End," said Kristen simply as she waved forward her usual assistants, each bringing the two contestants a dipper of water and a rag. "Good match, Cam. I thought he had you there for a minute."

"So did I," replied the boy with a lopsided grin. "I'm just lucky, I guess...if he hadn't pulled back like that I'd never have had the time to get him well enough to get free."

"In other words, don't get cocky next time, Joel," she told the other boy with a slight grin as he nodded in reply. "Nice hold, though, you almost had him."

"I wouldn't have let him win, it was for my dearest cousin's honor!" said Cam nobly as he bowed to Briteyes, who stood beside Kristen with a slightly raised brow. Unmasked for once, her scarred face was not so out of place here, where fighters and warriors were supposed to be trained, so it didn't bother her as much as it usually did.

"Oh yes, I'm sure," came her dour reply. "My thanks, little cuz, though I can take care of my own honor, you know."

"Enough, you two," said Kristen as the class began to lose focus. "Hey, eyes back over here! Ok, any more challenges for today?"

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Ben sat with his blanket wrapped around his shoulders in front of the fire in the servant's main hall, ignoring the rest as they talked and laughed amongst themselves with their cards, dice, and bottles of rough liquor and wine. Usually he was among some of the younger ones a few years older than himself (he was the youngest boy on the staff) watching in fascination as they did their slight-of-hand tricks or told stories of their latest pranks the Master had yet to notice, or with the oldest men as they played their strategy games with old, hand made boards and game pieces of chips of wood and nut shells. 

But tonight he was alone, sipping the mug of weak tea he had left over from dinner staring into the flames desolately. A warm hand slid across his back as someone crossed behind him, the creaking of old joints audible as the same someone sat down with a sight.

"What bothers you, lad?"

"The Master's son, Artor," he replied softly, knowing who it was without even having to look up. "He's so different, Nana...I know he doesn't understand or probably even mean what he says, but still..."

"It just makes you want to smack him, right?" replied Nana with a knowing nod. "Hm, for you didn't think there were any out there that naive, right?"

"Exactly."

"The Master has sheltered his son a great deal, and taught him much that isn't necessarily true, both by his words and actions," explained the old woman carefully. "Like I said, Ben, you can be his acquaintance, his part-time buddy...but never his friend."

"He's a fun guy when we just play," muttered Ben with a sigh. "It's not even playing with his stuff, it's having someone my age to climb and wrestle with for once and not have to think about my duties for awhile. But then he brings something up, his prodding questions..."

"Like how you came to be here?"

"Yeah..."

Nana raised her wrinkled brows slightly. "And what did you tell him?"

"Nothing, really," admitted the young boy with a shrug. "What could I tell him? 'I'm here because your dad decided to have us captured and ended up killing my sister in the process, which is why she's not with me'? Yeah, that'll go over well." Ben gulped, then went up. "And then he said my sister was a...a slut. One that abandoned me and my family, and that's why I'm here now. But that's not true, and I can't tell him any differently because then he'll tell his dad that I know the truth..."

"Hush, lad. Just take it easy for a moment, now." Nana put her arm around him tenderly, offering what comfort she could. "It doesn't matter if he knows the truth or not, as long as you know it deep in your heart and you never forget it."

"It still hurts," muttered Ben, sticking his chin out stubbornly.

"Oh, I know," replied Nana with a wry chuckle. "And it always will lad. But noble's can't control your heart, and that's where it truly counts."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Alyse and Landon both bowed to Niko respectfully as they stood beside their mounts on the road to the mansion of the present noble that overruled this area for Duke Verdis of Emelan. "My thanks for filling me in on the current situations," said the illusionist mage with a bow of his own. "And do tell your cat friend that Rosethorn has not noticed her presence outside of town yet, and shouldn't as long as it remains that way."

"I take it that's why she fled so quickly?" asked Alyse in surprise. "I'll have to ask her about that one..."

"And she'll probably enjoy explaining it to you," replied Niko with an elegant shrug. "However, I must be going now. Good hunting to you, and you know where to find me should you need anything. The mages High Council has always supported the Unmagic Assassins, albeit secretly, and I will do nothing short of that."

"We'll remember that," promised Landon with a friendly nod as he mounted his horse quickly, Alyse following suit. "Good day to you, Master Niko!"

"And to you too."

It was only a few moments into the woods that Revlis decided to appear, sitting in a tree just off the main road munching on a shriveled apple. "Oh, there you two are! Took you long enough."

"You could have come with," said Alyse innocently as she winked at Landon. "I don't know why you turned down a free meal, bath and bed, that's not like you. Unless of course, there was a reason...?"

"Oh, not really, just that a certain person in that group might not be too happy to see me," replied Revlis hastily.

"Not Master Niko, you met him before openly enough," replied Landon with a shrug. "And the rest were just mages and nobles with a few servants and students tagging along. No one to really be scared of, you fraidy-cat."

"HAVE YOU SEEN ROSETHORN WHEN SHE GETS MAD?!" cried Revlis defensively. 

"Actually, I haven't," replied Alyse lightly with a grin. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

Revlis paused, a flushed look coming on her face. "Sneaking little...grrrr..."

"Stop grumbling and tell us," said Landon with a laugh as he dismounted and stood there looking up at her in amusement. "She seemed nice enough last night, if a little rough around the edges sometimes..."

"It was an accident, I swear!" sniffed Revlis pathetically as she actually shivered in fear from the memory alone. "I was training with one of the other regulars my first year in, and we made a stop over at Winding Circle. Well, Master let me wander around one night, and I mistook her garden for a nice patch of flowers to roll in. She figured out who it was the next morning, somehow, and about hung me by my paws in the well! Not that she ever saw me in panther form, but she has a keen sense for those she doesn't like..."

"You poor, dumb fool," sighed Landon as he shook his head pityingly. "Oh well, your loss."

"Gee, thanks for you kind words," muttered the cat girl as she slid from the tree. 

"Oh, you're welcome."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Olivia and Bryanna stood guard outside the entrance as Randy searched through the cave behind them, the fourth one they'd stumbled upon this morning that even slightly resembled the one on their map. And while it wasn't the closest match they had seen, Olivia had a queer feeling in the pit of her stomach that they needn't look any further for what they were seeking. 

Randy appeared a few moments later, looking slightly green around the gills. "This is it, alright..." He gulped and looked away, his face having gone ashen-white.

"How can you be so sure?" asked Olivia, frowning slightly. "It's not like there was anyone in there, was there?"

"No, there wasn't a person," replied Randy, cringing for some reason. "At least not a live one...There weren't any dead humans either, just a lot of mutilated little creatures that looked like they'd been used for small experiments with blood magic." 

Bryanna took a few steps into the cave, immediately backing up and looking extremely queasy. "Holy cow...that place reeks of death and unmagic! This is it, or there's another one around here not listed on the map."

"Why can't I feel anything then?" asked Olivia, puzzled at their behavior. She stepped nearer to the cave, noticing nothing different at all. There was a slight coppery tint to the air inside, but there were copper veins all over this valley, so it wasn't that uncommon.

"Your magic is in ice, which kind of goes along with the stillness and numb darkness death and unmagic brings," replied Bryanna as she made a face and backed up even further. "Our is healing and light, the opposites of that. Of course we can sense it better than you."

"Well, if there's still a person living in there, he's not there now," deduced Randy quickly. "Let's get away from here a bit and wait and see what happens. We won't leave the area entirely, so incase he does show we can maybe trap him somehow and get our answers, but I'd rather not be this close to this place if I can help it."

"Oh, I agree," replied Bryanna, picking up her things and heading off east along a river they could see from there. "Come on, higher ground is this way and we can watch relatively safely from there without being seen by the town folks or travelers on the road."

"Sounds good to me."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Brenna, bound at the wrists and ankles with just enough leeway so she could shuffle about, looked numbly at her friends as they met her just outside the main hall. "Hey, guys..."

"They found you guilty," blurted out Kaitlin suddenly, tears forming in her eyes. "Didn't they?"

"Yeah," she replied with a slight shrug, trying to make light of the situation though her face was white and drawn with fear. "Kind of hard not to, they caught me completely in the act..."

"What the hell were you thinking?!" cried Cheeks, unable to contain himself any longer as Jem clung to his side, tears falling silently down his pale face. "Pulling a stunt like this...we could have found another way! Why? What the hell am I going to tell Gwen when we go back, she's going to find a way to blame me, you know!"

"I thought I could fix things, ok?!" replied Brenna heatedly. "So...I was wrong, alright? Every thing'll be ok, you'll see."

"How will it be ok if you're going to die?" asked Rupal flatly, numbly unable to do more than that she was in such shock. "Will you be there when we get home? Or do you die there too? What's going to happen now?"

"I don't know," admitted Brenna sadly with a shrug. "Don't worry about me, though, just worry about yourselves..."

A couple of big men from the village came and seized Brenna by her bonds, dragging her after them. 

"Hey, you can't do this to her, she's all we've got!" screamed Kaitlin as she dove forward, the entire family suddenly finding themselves surrounded and physically restrained by other men from the village who'd anticipated this problem from the start. 

The once proud Queen of Thieves was led over the gallows, merely a rope that hung from a tree a few miles out of town. The group was allowed to follow, but only at a distance and were kept under a constant watch by the others. Gagging her to silence her cries to her friends to take care of themselves, a bag was forcibly shoved over her head and tied so she couldn't shake it off.

Placed upon a rickety old stool, they hung the rope around her neck, the local guard coming and reading her crimes of attempted robbery of large sums of money, breaking onto private property, and property damage that she'd caused when she'd attempted to escape. Found guilty on all three counts, she was charged as a thief and her sentence, obviously, was death by hanging.

The morning dawn just peaked it's first few rays over the horizon, highlighting everything in a rosy pink that seemed in gross contrast to the grave scene before them. The knot was tightened around her neck, the rest backing away expect for a single man who stood beside her, praying a single prayer to the black god of Death before he kicked the stool from under her legs.

With nothing more to support her, gravity dragged Brenna downwards as the rope used up it's slack, someone screaming in the background just as it went taunt...

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Erm... *hides* please dun kill me, the update will be soon, I swear!!! 

Here's something I have to do REAL fast:

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy Birthday dear LIBBY and SAMINEE_

_HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!_

Yes, our dear Libby and a friend of ours from school, the ever insane Saminee both turned 18 in the last few days. Please wish them a very happy birthday in your reviews!

Because it took so long here's your treat:

Summer Sea Saga: OKAME TIME!! 

**CONQURE THE WORLD: VIXEN STYLE**

(btw: Okame is like the little after-theatre things some anime series does, like Blue Seed. And Chibi means, little, mini or little. Nymph-sized perhaps.)

*Chibi Vixen appears on your computer screen*

CVix: *looks around* No one here...*considers, then a light bulb appears over her head* ...that means, I thus have conquered this land! It is mine! ALL MINE!! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!

*Chibi Libby floats down from above dressed in a scholars robes*

CLib: *superiorly* Do you have a FLAG?

CVix: Well...I....YES!! *pulls out a flag with a fox wearing a crown on it*

CLib: No flag, no...wait, what?

CVix: HA! I win, you lost, so suck it! *Super-mallets Libby off the screen, and you can hear her screams into the distance.*

CLib: EEEEeeeeeeeehhhhhhhh.....

CVix: Now I claim this land for me, and me alone! *Plants flag proudly*

*Chibi Cheeks pops into view*

CCheeks: Ah...hi?

CVix: What are you doing here? another light bulb* OH! I know! You've come to be one of my loyal subjects, right?

CCheeks: *nervously* Well, I...

CVix: Yeah! And I'll make you a squire, and you can follow me around and attend to my every need...

CCheeks: *sweat drops* You see, though...

CVix: Don't interrupt me! Where was I...? Oh yes! And you'll sing my praises in the streets 'cuz you're a big Chorus Guy, and bow before me all the time so everyone else gets the hint...

CCheeks: *talking super fast* IonlycamebecauseKaitlinaskedmeto!! *cringes* Sorrysorrysorrysorry....please don't hurt me??

CVix: *narrows eyes* You're not here to be one of my loyal subjects? *twitches*

CCheeks: Eh...well...no?

CVix: *about to explode* WHY YOU-

*Chibi Kaitlin pops into view*

CKat: *happily* CHEEKUMS!!

CCheeks: Kaitlin! *hides behind her* Save me...

CKat: *confused* Why? *Looks at Brenna and giggles* Aww, Vixie's all red! She looks kinda like a tomato...

CVix: TOMATO?! I'll show you TOMATO! *pulls out mallet*

*a random, big hand appears from above, plucking the mallet from her hands and picking her up by her collar*

Voice From Above: Now now, Vixie-kins, you have to play nice...time to go back in the story for you.

CVix: *protesting* But you said I could have a whole hour!

VFA: That was before you started menacing people with your mallet. Get in there like a good girl or you only get a few minutes out of it next time!

CVix: *grumbles* Fine, meanie...

*Chibi Vixen and big hand disappear, leaving Chibi Kaitlin and Chibi Cheeks alone*

CCheeks: Say, isn't Libby supposed to have off today, too?

CKat: Yeah, I thought so...

CLib: ...hhhheeeeeEEEEEE!!! *thump*

*A dazed Chibi Libby falls to the ground, spirally eyed and with a lump on her head*

CLib: Owies....

CKat: How did you come from the sky, Libby....

CLib: *rolls eyes* *sarcastically* I few, Kaitlin.

CKat: *excited* REALLY?! Can you teach me to do that to, just with a cooler landing, not that I don't like the spirally eyes but I don't think they'd work for me...

CCheeks & CLib: KAITLIN!

CKat: *confused* What? I wanna fly too...don't you Cheekums? Oh!! Can he learn too?? Cuz then he could fly under me, and if I fell or something he'd be there to catch me, or at least break my fall, you know!

*Cheeks smacks self in forehead as Libby simply passes out on the ground*

CCheeks: Oi...

The End

REVIEW PLEASE!!!

~CB~


	18. 

*tosses it at audience and runs* THERE IT IS, DON'T EAT ME, PLEASE!!!!

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Brenna woke in a hazy place that reminded her of limbo from Dante's Inferno, a place where you weren't in paradise, but weren't tortured in various ways either. All in all, not a bad place to be if she had to spend the rest of eternity here, though it would get rather boring with all this mist and no one else around after awhile. Maybe there were other people here, wherever here was. Not like she didn't have the rest of her afterlife to find out.

"Thankfully, you won't be around here that long," commented a young boy as he suddenly popped into view, nearly scaring Brenna to death. The only reason he didn't was because she was, obviously, already dead.

"Where the heck did you come from?!" she asked, backing up a bit and giving him a glare. "You almost killed me all over again, sneaking up on me like that!"

"I thought I told you to be nicer around the mortal charges," commented a young woman in her teens dressed in American clothes as she appeared as well, but much slower and less alarmingly than her companion had. "Apologize, Devan."

"Why??"

The elder one glared at him threateningly. "Just do it!"

Grumbling under his breath, he rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright...sorry."

"Hey," said Brenna with a suspicious look. "I remember you...you're the mage-dude who got us into this mess!! It's your fault I'm dead!"

"MY fault?! Now wait just one darn minute, I'm not the one who decided to go sneaking off and play 'heroine thief', some twisted female version of Robin Hood, just for the heck of it!"

"I never would've had to if you'd taken care of us like you were supposed to!" retorted Brenna pointedly. "Trystan NEVER let us get ourselves into this kind of a mess."

"Trystan's world is a different one from mine!" snorted the boy mage angrily. "And yea, she did let you get yourself into messes -it's called freewill-, only you made less stupid choices, so you came out ahead instead of behind like you did this time. WAY behind."

"Well, what the heck am I supposed to do now?!" screamed the farmer lady, clenching her fists and wishes she could take his skinny little neck and tie it in half a dozen knots. 

"What are you going to do?! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?! Oh, I'll TELL you what you're going to do!!" The mage boy suddenly composed himself, finishing quietly. "You're immortal, so in a couple of days (give or a take a few) you're going to reawaken in your body good as new."

Brenna deadpanned as he smiled giddily. "What the heck...? Immortal? Reawaken?? Would someone explain just what's going on?!"

"Visit more than one alter-universe = being immortal," said the elder woman with a shrug. "Simple concept. There's a ton of metaphysical explanation-crap behind it, but he doesn't get it and I'm not going to do it for him, ok?"

"...ok." Brenna breathed deeply, letting the air out slowly before she went on. "So...I'm not really dead?"

"No, just...'resting' while your body fixes itself," replied Devan with a shrug. "Though removed heads often take awhile..."

"THEY TOOK OFF MY HEAD?!" Brenna grabbed her neck instinctively, turning a greenish color.

"It's policy, incase the thief or vagrant or whatever managed to live through the hanging somehow," shrugged Devan simply. "Which is actually a good thing in this case, because you can't be seen back in town as you once were."

"You're not..." Brenna ran a hand through her long, raven tresses longingly. "No, no, no...not my hair! I like my straight hair!!!"

"Sorry, it's got to go," replied Devan with a shrug. "It won't be AS curly as it was before, if that helps, but the brown color will return. It happens naturally every time your body has to 'replace' part of itself that's been severed or lost as an immortal. So, any old scars you might have had from the shoulders up or so might be returning as well, just to warn you."

"What about my eyes?" whimpered Brenna sadly. "I get to keep my eyes at least...right?"

Devan shook his head. "Nope."

"NOOO!!!!"

"Nutcase," muttered the sister as Brenna continued to wail about her hair and her eyes, fading into the background. 

Devan nodded, following her back to their home. "Absolutely."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Olivia sighed as she sat tiredly beside Randy, Bryanna returning moments later only to shake her head. "Nothing," she said simply with a shrug. "Nothing at all. Whoever once lived here is long gone."

"What now?" asked Randy slothfully, toying with his belt strap as a bug buzzed by in the afternoon heat.

Olivia coughed as another wave of smoke came at them from the surrounding valleys where the constant threat of forest fires lay. "We can't stay here much longer. It's not safe, that's for sure."

"Where are we going to go, then?" asked Randy roughly. "This is the only place the guards haven't followed us yet. They're sending their circles out farther and farther north, and a few have passed relatively close to town, but they won't go in the forest itself in fears of being caught in the middle of a huge fire. Apparently they don't trust this 'Mage Yarrun Firetamer' entirely, and not that I blame him. From what I've heard from a few locals, any farther north and it's practically an accident waiting to happen."

"And you got all of that gossiping with the farmer's wives while bargaining for cheese in the ten minutes you were in town?" asked Olivia mockingly. 

"You'd be surprised how fast those ladies can shoot their mouths off when they have a mind to."

"I'm sure."

"We've got a week, maybe two, before the smoke is really going to start getting to us," warned Bryanna as she shifted to reach the water bottle at her feet and take a sip. "Maybe three if we start wearing scarves over our mouths like some of the villagers do. After that...if we stay here we're all going to end up with asthma for the rest of our lives. I don't have the energy to keep up with the healing of all three of us over long periods of time, and someone would have to face the consequences because of it."

"Or as long as we're here in Summersea whatever, right?" added Randy lightly. "I could deal with asthma for a few years if I had to, if it meant I wasn't getting chained up by the police."

"It could be a few years, a few months, or a few decades," replied Bryanna with a shrug. "We really won't know until the day it's time to go home. And if we have to fight our way out like we did last time...well, asthma would not help in a situation like that. Besides, a hacking smoker's cough is hard to cover up and draws extra attention to ourselves that we don't need."

"She has a point," admitted Olivia slowly. "We move back south if we don't think of something in a week and a half. If all else fails we'll go back to that mage's place and see if we can't dig up anything else that might be useful. At best, maybe we'll find some out of the way village that hasn't heard of us yet and might find ourselves some work there."

"It's worth a try," sighed Bryanna with a shrug. "Nothing to lose either way."

"Works for me."

"Your turn to get up in the three," Bryanna reminded Olivia, motioning for her to get moving. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...who's idea was it to set a watch on that place during the day anyways?"

"Uh...yours?"

"Well...dang. That sucks."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Alyse and Landon rode up to the spot they'd been tracking all morning, Revlis right behind them as usual. Dismounting quickly, the cat girl scouted the area while her two companions checked out the cave itself. There they found the dead animals and a stagnant pool of unmagic, but nothing more. Whoever had once dwelled there was long gone, leaving his filth and such behind.

Coming back out, they found a puzzled Revlis who mapped out what she'd found for them to see if they could make any sense of it.

"Ok, so the cave was obviously abandoned, but there are other signs here that a couple other people were in the area recently," she stated firmly. "Footprints, unnaturally crushed twigs and leaves. Only humans can do stuff like that. But they don't smell of unmagic, or at least not active unmagic. If they have trace amounts I couldn't tell, you know, but then again with that huge pile up back there I doubt even Alyse could sense them as long as they're within a few miles of this place. The area around the cave for several hundred feet has been relatively well-searched, but once again no real pattern to it and no sign of where they've headed off to next. It's like they just wandered about in random circles over a couple of days before leaving and coming back to do it all over again and leaving in a different direction to confuse their tracks. I can't make heads nor tails of who it might be or what they might want, really."

The two off-worlders exchanged glances. "Stay here and keep guard," said Alyse after a few moments of thought. "If there are others here, we don't want them poking around too much. Either they're after something they shouldn't have, or don't realize the dangers associated with this place, and either way we have to stop them. Landon and I need to go get some supplies for this time around, so we'll be back in a couple of hours as soon as we can."

"Anything in particular?" asked Revlis, rather puzzled as most jobs required just their powers and skills. "What's so different this time around?"

"Just some wards to keep other animals away from this place after we're gone," explained Alyse with a shudder. "Dead things hold the taint much easier than living ones do, and with all the dead junk in there that's soaked in that stuff and other blood-magic runes...well, we're going to seal it off for good even after it's been cleansed. It's just not a good place to be."

"Alright. I'll keep my eyes and ears pealed."

"Ok!"

"Be back as soon as we can, I promise."

"Better be!"

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Ben hauled water for the cook as he did during his usual 'servant hours', trudging along with the buckets hanging from a bar over his shoulders as he headed for the well once more. It wasn't a fun task, but it had been giving him broader shoulders as of late and didn't burn his hands the way turning the spit did so he didn't complain.

Rounding the corner, he paused in the shadows as he saw Artor by the well, and he wasn't alone. One of the younger maids, of around twelve years old, was with him, obviously on some task of her own that Artor apparently kept thwarting her ability to complete.

Hoisting a bucket to the top, she bowed her head respectfully and turned to leave as he laughed and blocked her path. "Please, sir," she whispered meekly, cringing away from his touch. "Sir, your father will be greatly angered if I am unable to complete my task of washing the floors in the great hall before dinner. Please, sir! Let me on my way!"

"There's no rush, there's plenty of time before the bells for dinner ring," he replied heartlessly with another chuckle. Reaching forward, he tipped the bucket over with a flick of his hand, letting the water splash carelessly over the stones of the courtyard. "Oops, looks like you'll have to draw another bucket, won't you? You shouldn't be so clumsy now, you almost got my new shoes wet, wench. Do so next time, and I might have to speak with my father about a suitable punishment..."

The young girl bowed her head ashamedly, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks in her futile anger and frustration. "...yes, sir. I apologize. Perhaps, if I'm so clumsy you shouldn't bother with one such as I."

"Perhaps." He grabbed her arm, forcing her to stand closer as he leered at her openly. "But do not forget, SERVANT...you belong to me."

Ben dropped his buckets, a rage so violent welling up inside him he was afraid his chest might burst. How COULD he?! Treating her as if she was no better than an animal, a toy, something for him to simply amuse himself with! The idea of him treating another human being...it didn't even matter that it was a girl, she still deserved better treatment than this.

"Master Artor!" he called politely, an edge to his voice though he tried to keep himself as calm and steady as possible. 

"Hm? Oh, Ben! Come here and join me, will you?"

"...of course, sir." He slowly walked over, the Master's son releasing the girl so she could scuttle after her spilled bucket. Interposing himself between her and it, Artor kicked it farther away cruelly with a chuckle. 

"You are as worthless as ever, girl," he sighed mockingly, laughing at her discomfort as she reached for it time and time again, kicking it just out of reach. "Perhaps I really should speak with my father about giving you new...duties."

"I am content with the work I do now, sir," she whimpered quietly. "Please sir, if you would let complete my job..."

Ben clenched his jaw, easily scooping up the bucket from the other side and hooking it to the rope, lowering and raising it quickly before handing it back to the girl with a silent nod. She nodded back gratefully, turning to leave when Artor shot out his hand to grab hold of her once more.

He was surprised to find his arm intercepted by that of Ben's, who firmly held him in place. 

"Be careful, sir," said the servant boy in a low voice, motioning to the well next to them with his head as the girl made her get away. "It would be unwise of you to ruin your new shirt, and you nearly dragged your sleeve through the scum on top of the stone walls here." He refused to meet the other boy's eyes, slowly letting go once the girl was out of sight.

"It is always unwise for a servant to forget his place," hissed Artor in reply, shooting him a poisonous glare it was the first time Ben had ever been treated like this by his friend, but he could see immediately where it came from. Traces of his father's typical behavior with elder females of the house, and how his son had now thought to make them his own. "Tread carefully, friend, or you might find yourself in a trap you can't escape from."

"I understand, sir," replied Ben slowly, backing away to retrieve his own buckets and fill them carefully. 

"You had better!"

Ben watched silently as he stomped off, a frown on his face. Now he understood why most didn't like the nobles, they only treated properly those they liked, such as himself. The rest, though...they were no better than animals in their sight. A single question continued to circle his thoughts as he filled his own bucket and began the long trek back to the kitchens.

Why?

What bothered him most, though, was he couldn't think of a good answer.

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Nicole gently guided the huge ship into the port, getting them into an empty dock off to the side before ducking down into the cabins below as usual. She wasn't allowed to be out and about in plain sight until later unless she was hiding in someone's pocket or hood. To have her stolen and sold as an oddity would not be a good thing at all.

"Where are we exactly?" asked Gwen as she tossed ropes down to Tyler and Tanner who'd jumped to the dock the moment they were sure they could make it without falling in. "It feels like we've been here before."

"We're in a smaller port just a few days south of Emelan," explained Talia with a grin as she easily tied one of the ropes on their end in place. "That would be a nicer berth for the winter storms, but I suppose this one'll do."

"This one's dock rate is about half as much," added Jenny pragmatically. "We're not paying a double silver crescent a week to stay there when we could get by on a few coppers here. The only difference here and there is they've got the Duke's Navy to protect them and all we've got us ourselves. I think we'll be just fine, though."

"Captain, Dock Manager here to see you!" called Tanner from the gangplank he'd just put in place.

"Coming!" she called back, turning to walk towards them. "Get moving, you two, there'll be plenty to do on our rest stay."

"Oh, I'm sure."

"Morning, ma'am," offered the lanky fellow, adjusting his well-fitted uniform proudly as she simply nodded courteously. "I'll need a name and two coppers to leave your boat here for the night, plus another additional six for every week extra you stay."

"Here's the equivalent of 30 coppers," she said simply, handing him a sagging pouch. "We'll be here another month at least, if not two, but I'll pay for those as they come. Name's Captain Jennifer Christopher."

"Appreciate it, ma'am," he said simply with a quick nod of his head. "If you'd sign here..." He held the book for her, handing her the graphite stick as she actually signed her name rather than making the 'X' as most did. "Enjoy your stay, ma'am."

"Of course." Jenny switched to Trader Talk, the language they normally communicated in as it was more natural for a good portion of the crew. "Get moving, you guys! I want the entire ship gone over and cleaned until it shines with every repair that needs to be done being reported immediately with an estimated cost!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Why weren't you this vocal back home?" asked Gwen as she sidled up along side her Captain curiously. "I swear, it was like dragging words from your mouth sometimes to get more than five words strung together at a time."

"I didn't have a ship to run back then," retorted Jenny simply. "Now get down to the galley and help Granny clean up down there. She's got old bones, and is a bit slow sometimes."

Gwen sighed. "I think I liked you better the other way."

Jenny smiled. "Oh well."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Mike and Matt lay on their backs outside of the Tavern they'd been seated in only moments before, their drinks splashed all around and the barkeep with one of his assistants standing over them wiping his hands as if he'd touched something unclean. "Filthy drunks," he grunted uncaringly. "Don't ya come back until ya can pay the tab, got it? I don't serve nobody for free." He turned on his heal and stalked back inside, the young man following him closely after glancing back over his shoulder once or twice.

"Well, Mike," drawled Matt as he hauled himself up so he was sitting in the dusty street rather than lying flat on his back. "I thinks we not wanted hea..."

"Yea..." Mike looked at him, a dopey grin on his face as he let himself be pulled up by his less-drunken friend. "So...what now?"

"Dunno." Matt slowly stumbled to his feet, a hitching post for support as he tried to regain his footing. "But I still got somma dis..." He held up a wineskin teasingly, Mike groping after it as he pulled himself to his feet unsteadily by using Matt to claw his way up. Leaning on each other, they began to stagger down the street, laughing uproariously and singing bawdy bits as loudly as they could by intervals as they passed the leather pouch that was quickly being emptied of its contents back and forth.

Suddenly Mike went into one particularly rousing song, one that he'd taken to singing when Kristen was around just because she hated it so. Stumbling back and forth across the road, and belting it out for all he was worth, it went something like this:

_Come on over and buy me some ale_

_For it, I'll tell you a bit of a tale_

_Not of brave knights going whither and hence_

_But a saucy wench of supposed innocence_

_Hey-ho! Such a bright little thing_

_She'll treat all her custom like high-sitting kings_

_But a line to each man who asked her she fed_

_'I'll not bed a man until we've been wed!'_

_Well I stayed on over at that tavern night_

_T'was dark on the stairs, so I asked for a light_

_'There's only one lantern' she said ever so kind_

_Then such a great plan came to my mind_

_Hey-ho! Such a bright little thing_

_She'll treat all her custom like high-sitting kings_

_But a line to each man who asked her she fed_

_'I'll not bed a man until we've been wed!'_

_Up the stairs together we went_

_All my charms her way I duly sent_

_She could not resist me, I tell you fair sir!_

_She leapt in my bed without as much as a stir_

_Hey-ho! Such a bright little thing._

_She'll treat all her custom like high-sitting kings_

_But her line's now fair gone, and so am I_

_I proved that wench's words was naught but a lie_

_I tell you now sir, time's since then passed_

_Since her lie's been proven at last_

_There's not much else of the story to tell_

_Except of the-_

***WHOOSH***

"COLD!!!!"

"AHHH!!"

"Serves you right," called Chris from his window, holding the empty bucket in both hands. "Now shuddup! Some of us actually have to sleep so we can go to work in the morning!"

"That was freaking cold!"

"Yeah, I know. Nite."

"Bloody bastard..."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Kaitlin, Cheeks, Libby, and Rupal all sat around the table, staring at each other sadly, three days having passed since the hanging of their friend and family member and not much having been accomplished since then. Jem was passed out cold just in the next room over, exhausted from a night of torturous nightmares that were even worse than the normal bunch, the agony of the last few days having worn his sanity far thinner than usual.

Not that the four of them were in any semi-good condition at all. Libby looked like she'd been to hell and back, her hair bedraggled around her face with smudges under her eyes and still wearing the same clothes from the day they'd found out. Nothing mattered anymore to her, not even her bunnies, she just wanted to curl up and die. Kaitlin was much the same way, and had used every last bit of their flour to bake anything and everything she could think of with their limited resources at least once. Rupal didn't know food stuffs could be stretched that far, but the cook had done it and at least their pantry was stocked if their cabinets were not. Speaking of the accountant, she didn't know what to think. Everything was numb, she couldn't feel much of anything or summon enough energy to care. Things were slowly down, and soon they'd probably die as well. But who cared, in this cursed world? All she wanted was to go home, and to go home NOW. Cheeks was probably the most drained off all them, having not slept even an hour uninterrupted with Jem's worsening condition and the others unable to assist him in it. The boy wouldn't respond to any other, so he bore the duty as best he could and hoped eventually there would be a light at the end of this lonely and dark tunnel. All four eyes met, and suddenly jumped to something none of them had thought about yet. 

Brenna's things. And then chaos broke loose as everyone scrambled for the stairs, pushing and shoving like nobody's business.

"I SO have dibs on her room!"

"Do not, get back here! I'm older than you!"

"And I freaking cook your meals, shove it!"

"I want her plant collection!"

"I thought you were asleep twerp! You can't have anything, you haven't been her long enough!"

"Now, is that really fair-"

"Screw being fair!"

"Fine then. Nobody better even THINK of touching her books and ink, those are MINE."

"Then I want her clothes! Leather boots and all, I never got those cuz you said cooks didn't need 'em."

"They don't!"

"Heck if I care!"

"I call her anime!"

"Libby, her anime is all back home...you can't get to it from here."

"Well...uh...if she's dead there too, then I get it there too!"

"You can't have all of it! That's a freaking fortune!"

"Yeah, well, so what?"

"Ami-chan's gonna kill you."

"...you can have the manga if you keep quiet about it. I don't read that stuff anyways."

"Deal!"

**_"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!!!!!"_**

Everyone paused and turned around to see a soil-covered figure that look very much like their deceased friend standing there in the back doorway.

"Angry greedy ghost," whispered Kaitlin as she hid behind a frozen Cheeks. "Eep! Don't eat me! I swear, I don't taste that good, see? Eww...gross...I really do taste bad."

"SHUT UP!" The figure brushed her now-brown and curly locks out of her eyes, glaring at them all with a universal condemnation of: 'This had better be good or all males will be emasculated and girls beheaded.' "I'm not dead for ever THREE freaking DAYS and you're fighting over my STUFF?!! Bloody hell, I think I liked being DEAD better! Gee, thanks for caring guys, nice to know that all those warm, fuzzy feelings you once had for me actually lasted once I was gone..."

"Wait, you can't be dead, not talking like that," said Kaitlin warily, creeping closer and wagging her finger knowingly. "No one can counterfeit the 'Emasculate all offending guys and behead all offending females' glare. It's very similar to the 'I aught to run you through with something long, sharp, and pointy' Manda-chan glare, but distinctly different. But...you can't be Brenna. So who the heck are you??? And where'd you learn that glare?!" She sidled closer and whispered, "If you teach me, I'll tell the others you're the real Brenna. I know it can subdue an angry Cheeks, and that might come in handy- URK!"

Kaitlin found herself the sole recipient of that glare as Brenna's hand shot forward, getting her by the collar and forcibly dragging her collar. "Could a ghost do this, you numbskull?"

"Course not, you have to be an imposter," replied Kaitlin as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "So, who are you really?"

"I'm BRENNA!!!"

"Then tell us something only Brenna would know," replied Libby carefully. "One thing about each person. And...it has to be from our 'old life.' Not from the 'first trip', that's too easy, but from 'our original lives'. If you're the real Brenna, you'll know what I'm talking about."

"Well that's freaking easy," muttered the revived farmer girl, rolling her eyes. "Kaitlin and her 'Wake me if I say Nine Month's later' deal, which I don't think she wants me to actually mention details right now." Kaitlin blushed a bright red. "Rupal was a genius in high school, top of our class, etc...oh, and she had the psycho theatre teacher Junior year." Rupal nodded slowly. "Libby, you totaled your first car. And I mean TOTALED. That thing couldn't have been any more smashed without you having died, you're freaking lucky to have only come out with a bruise. And Cheeks, well...he's our trombonist that's forever sick with SOMETHING, be it a strained muscle or a lung virus."

"Yeah, it's definitely her," affirmed Kaitlin, still dangling from Brenna's grasp. "Our Vixie-chan is back!!"

"That's not possible!" cried Libby, smacking herself in the forehead as if hoping to wake herself from a very bad dream. "Not happening...not at all...not possible...never..."

"Libby, sweety, I have news for you," said Brenna, cheering up some as she did. "Guess what?"

"What?" The bunny woman couldn't even argue any more, her mind was so overwhelmed in shock. 

"You and I and every other person for whom this trip is a second time around deal...we're immortal."

"Then why is your eyes back to blue and your hair brown and curly?" asked Kaitlin, still hanging in the hair. 

"Well...long story, they just are. Do you believe me, though? That I am back?"

There was a pause, then everyone crowded around her instantaneously, hugs and kisses all over the place as she was welcomed in once more. 

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Olivia sat perfectly still in her perch high up in the tree branches. Heights had never been a problem for her, so instead of setting a 'trigger' during her watch like Bry did to let her know when others where near or watch from under a bush, she merely hid herself behind the numerous, dry leaves and observed from there. It was actually rather comfortable, too, the way she'd set herself with an extra blanket as a cushion.

That wasn't the point, though.

It had been on her watch when the three strangers had rode up, their mounts obviously fine ones and from their matching clothing some sort of well-coordinated group. Two had gone in, the one with the boneless grace of a cat staying out as guard, she supposed. They'd emerged and then exchanged a few words, her being too high up to catch clearly what they said.

One disadvantage she'd never thought of with this seat, there was no easy way down, not even wearing the loose breeches she'd borrowed from Randy and if she moved and made a sound at all she was sure they'd sense her presence immediately. There'd been more talking, several hand gestures, and then the man and woman (who seemed strangely familiar to her) mounted their horses and left the cat-girl there alone to probably stand guard until their return.

And there goes her hopes of alerting the others the moment they were gone. Hopefully they weren't going to stick around and poke their noses into places they shouldn't, her two friends were in for a nasty surprise otherwise as she'd seen they were armed and things could get messy from here. 

But the one thing that was bugging her the most: just who were these people? Their clothes were all the same, and they looked like guards or watchmen of some sort, but who'd ever heard of female guards in these parts and why the heck were they all the way out here? If they were searching for her they'd have found her with a magic-seeker, she couldn't hide her gift anymore than she could hide herself if she were in an open field. And if they weren't out here for her and her friends, what were they after? The unmagic? She hadn't felt the same waves of 'taint' she had on their old master, and if anything seemed as nauseated but what they'd seen in there as she and Bry had. 

None of this made any sense, she decided, so she sat tight and waited, hoping for the best turn out in the end. Whatever that would be.

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Revlis looked a little relieved when Alyse and Landon rode back up, her ears twitching from time and time and a nervous air about her that made the other two a little edgy as well. 

"Something wrong?" asked Landon as they unloaded the mounts, letting them graze nearby as they quickly set up their things. "Did anything happen when we were gone?"

"Nothing, really," she replied slowly with a shrug. "Just an...itch I have, I think. I can't describe it, just a feeling that something's not quite right, and I should know why too."

"It's not unmagic," offered Alyse slowly. "I'd be able to sense it. All of the stuff here is latent and unused, a collected reserve that can't hurt anyone unless it was tapped into or set free. Not that I intend to let either happen, but that shouldn't bother you."

"That's not it," she sighed with a shake of her head. "Just ignore me, I'm probably being silly over nothing..." Quickly working together and never missing a beat, they had the protective wards and blood-magic banishing barriers in place as Landon took his spot right in front of the cave itself, just outside the entrance with his sword drawn.

"Go ahead," said Alyse as she gave everything a last minute check, her own powers extending only to that and to her 'Sensing' abilities. Giving him a grin, she added, "We can handle anything that happens out here."

He grinned back. "I know." Turning away, he began to concentrate his powers in his sword, the usual blue flames that now tended to manifest during these times dancing long its keen edge. Slowly he let it build, waiting until it was exactly what he needed and driving the point of it hard down into the earth. From it in a circle the power pulse and flew out like a wave, a funnel of wind rising up only to die moments later as everything went still around them.

"...was that it?" asked Alyse hesitantly as he stumbled back a step, easily crossing the barriers she'd created to help him back out of there. "Wow, that stuff must've been there for years without being touched to let itself just be burned away like that with no resistance at all."

"There was some," returned Landon slowly. "But not much at all. I wish we knew some more in case that might-"

"OLIVIA!!"

All three of them froze, Revlis turning to see a young blonde woman and a guy with dark hair running towards them frantically, calling the same name, over and over again. 

"OLIVIA, GET DOWN HERE NOW!!"

"What's going on?!" cried Revlis as she caught the girl by the arm, seeing the panic and fear in her eyes instantly. Glancing behind them, her mouth went dry as the hair prickled at the back of her neck. "Holy mother of darkness..."

A random girl dropped from the trees with long, reddish-brown tresses, the cat girl's fears mirrored in her own eyes.

There was a raging wall of fire, about fifteen feet tall not more than a hundred yards away. On top of that, it was moving towards them. On top of THAT....the sides were moving faster than it, and was about to hedge them in. Permanently.

"RUN!!"

The three Unmagic Assassins ran for their mounts, Alyse not even considering it an option to leave the other three behind as she offered the guy her hand hurriedly. The other two followed suit, their horses immediately going into a full-out gallop through the forest to anywhere they hoped the fire wouldn't spread. It was a race for their lives, and everyone one of them prayed to whomever might be listening that they wouldn't lose.

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Ben sighed as he changed slowly in his room, knowing he'd probably truly overstepped his bounds since he'd first started his 'relationship' with the Master's son as friends, and was probably going to pay dearly for it. The morning lessons had been cancelled, due to something the guards wouldn't explain to him when he'd asked them why he wouldn't be let it. So, he'd come back down here and changed into his regular clothes, figuring he'd go and lend an extra hand in the kitchens for the day. Nana would be there, and the Cook was always complaining she didn't have enough helpers, she'd be glad enough to give him some work for a couple hours.

Wondering if he'd ever be going back to lessons again, Ben absently stirred the contents of a large bowl and made sure they were well-mixed before carefully pouring it in the clay pan it would bake in. Hours passed as he methodically worked his way through the list of chores the surprised Cook had given him, glad for the help and hoping it would last more than just for today.

Considering he doubted he'd even get to have his free period with Artor, that was quickly becoming a possibility.

 Lunch came as one of the guards for the family came down, warily watching the lower servants as if he was afraid they might jump and bite him or something as he searched among their numbers. "You there!"

Ben looked up from the crust the cook had given him to munch on in surprise. "Uh...me sir?"

"You're wanted up in the Library," he said importantly, ignoring the others as if they didn't matter at all. "Follow me."

"Yessir..."

Wishing he'd gotten time to change, Ben straightened his wrinkled clothes as best he could and wiped his greasy hands on his pants. Working with food in the kitchen wasn't exactly a job that left you looking presentable considering the constant chaos that went on in there.

"Here, get in there and behave," said the guard gruffly, prodding him into the room with his foot before he shut the door behind him.

Artor sat in one of the two easy chairs before the fireplace, a chessboard set up before him with all the pieces already set. Studying it intently, he didn't even look up but simply waved to the chair across from him in a silent invitation to play.

Ben hesitantly walked over and sat down across from him, touching as little of the chair as possible in his condition so he wouldn't spoil it and waiting for Artor to move or speak first. 

"You are confusing sometimes, Ben," said Artor carefully as he moved his first piece. "Why did you interferer with me like that yesterday?"

Ben considered the move, then made one of his own. "What do you mean sir?"

Artor quickly moved another pawn forwards two spaces. "I mean, why did you interpose yourself between me and that girl yesterday." Artor wrinkled his nose slightly. "I can't imagine that you've already marked her as 'yours', she didn't seem to know you very well at least. And other than that, she's just a servant, and a female one at that. Hardy worth anything at all. I do not see where she would mean enough for you to put your standing in jeopardy over her."

Ben sat back, carefully forming his next words and play in the game simultaneously. Cautiously picking up a knight, he moved it among Artor's pawns carefully as he spoke. "Sir...I believe you're wrong. A girl or not, a servant is still a human being. What makes you think you can treat others like that?"

"I'm her Master, she must obey me in all ways," replied Artor immediately, recklessly throwing a castle in the way of his pawn as he did. "She displeased me by not doing so, thus I rightly humiliated her for her. She's lucky you're the only one who saw her. This time."

Ben flexed his fist slowly as he kept his eyes downcast, resisting the urge to deck him across the chin good an hard. "She's not some...some toy! A thing to be played with and then cast aside..."

"That is the way my Father has always treated women, and they still flock to his side. Smile at him, fawn over him," replied Artor with a superior smile on his young face. "Wealth and power...he has both, you know. His bed is never cold, and mine won't be either."

Ben colored slightly. "Erm...look. Do you remember anything about your mother, Artor?"

"No, she died when I was born." The boy shrugged uncaringly. "She was weak. And don't start with trying to be sympathetic. I don't remember her, and I don't miss her. Father never could bring himself to love another woman after her death, from what they tell me, but what does it matter? I will be powerful and rich like he is, and women will bow before me as they do to him. Their smiles, their everything...they will belong to me."

Ben shook his head slowly, making his final move as he did. "I do not agree with you sir. That is a Check Mate, and I must be going so I can complete my other duties this afternoon."

Artor's frown deepened. "Go, then. We'll have lessons again tomorrow, don't be late."

Ben nodded slowly. "Yessir." He turned and left with a slight bow. 

Well, that hadn't been what he'd expected at all...

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Nicole worked diligently beside Gwen, using her tiny hands to given the bands a little extra shine that even the more detail-oriented of them couldn't achieve with their larger and clumsier fingers. Granted, she couldn't even fully lift the band off the ground without their help unless she used her magic, but that wasn't the point. As long as she got the detailing done, that's what mattered.

Jenny came down into the hold and carefully picked up one of the finished pieces, using a cloth to ensure she didn't get any fingerprints on it. Examining it with the detail of a detective trying to pry each and every clue that might be hidden beneath the surface, Nicole waited nervously for her final judgment. She hadn't any real reason to worry, though.

"Perfect."

She stowed them away in their wooden box and carried it carefully under one arm. "Thanks guys."

Nicole beamed as Gwen just shrugged and muttered something about being a slave half the time.

"Welcome!"

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Mike slowly pealed on eye open to the morning sun, wondering who had left his shutters and window open as a brisk morning breeze came in. Feeling stabs of pain the moment light hit his vision, he clamped it shut again and groaned as his stomach roiled unpleasantly. Oh yeah, it was him. When he'd been puking his guts out last night in the little pond right below his window with Jon's fish in it since he couldn't make it to the bathroom in time.

Oh, was Jon gonna love that.

Laying there for a minute, he slowly came to several conclusions and yet few of them made absolutely no sense at all. 

First of all, he was soaking wet. When had THAT happened? Yeah, sure, sometimes he'd wake up and his pants would be wet from having spilled the bottle on himself as he passed out. Or his shirt would be damp from being his head being repeatedly ducked in ice-cold water to give him the semblance of being sober. 

Neither one of those had happened last night, he was sure of it.

Second, he was in his bed. How did he get there? He and Matt weren't even planning to come home that night, Good ol' Paddy was supposed to let them crash on his floor right across from the tavern for the night. Wonder what happened there? None of the others had come and dragged him and Matt home, and Matt sure didn't want to leave, so why...?"

"Don't you look nice," said Cam as he appeared in his doorway, a taunting smile on his lips.

"Get lost, brat," he growled impotently. "Now."

"Naw, seeing you in misery is too much fun. Heard you had a nice soak last night, though. Enjoy it much?"

"Nice soak...? What? I don't know what the heck you're talking about kid. Mind refreshing my memory? What happened last night, do you know?"

"You don't remember?" Cam chuckled to himself. "Gees, sucks to be you. Later."

"Hey wait, what-" *THUD* "Ooohh...." Mike lay sprawled on his stomach on the floor, having attempted to rise to quickly and found the floor rising to meet his chin suddenly. "That's gonna leave a mark."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Brenna dragged herself downstairs as quietly as she could, not surprised to find Cheeks and Jem already there in the kitchen with a pot of hot water going with a mug of tea a piece. "Heya, guys."

"Hey," replied Cheeks with a nod, Jem just staring into his much blankly. "Can't sleep?"

"No, not very well at least," came the tiredly reply as she yawned. "Something about coming back from the dead...gives you creepy nightmares and stuff from time to time."

"I would too, if I'd been hung," he sighed slowly, settling back more comfortably in his chair as Brenna got herself a mug and some tea leaves, pouring hot water over them from the simmering pot. Settling herself in the chair next to them, Cheeks waited until she was comfortable enough not to get up and hit him before he asked his next question. "What the heck were you thinking, by the way? Doing something like that? We weren't that desperate yet."

"Yet being the operative, another week tops and we would have been," replied Brenna flatly. "At least the council gave you some restorive for the death of one of the breadwinners in the family, right?"

"Something like that. It wasn't much, but it helped some."

"Every bit counts."

"Exactly."

Silence settled between them, an easy one that made the farm lady turn drowsy as the hours wore on. She had almost nodded off when someone knocked at the door, startling out of her warmth-induced stupor enough to glance over at Cheeks, who was napping lightly with Jem resting peacefully in the crook of his arm. Knowing they got little enough sleep as it was, she got up herself and let them stay as they were, going herself to answer the door.

Wondering what time it was and knowing there wasn't really a way to find out as none of them had watches, she opened the door, not even bothering to question the fact that it was after midnight and there was someone pounding on the door. 

That was her first mistake, her second was not closing it fast enough when she saw the couple dozen tough mercenaries standing there with weapons drawn.

They were in the house and surrounded her before she could do so much as blink, one of the knocking her out with a swift blow from behind as she reached for something, anything that might serve as a weapon. Down she fell and there she remained, completely knocked out as they streamed in past her, her last conscious thought being:

_Well, isn't this a fine welcome back to the living world..._

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Bryanna sat beside Olivia, watching over the girl a bit longer to make sure was in stable condition once more. She'd inhaled too much smoke leaving the forest and had passed out the moment they were safe, almost tumbling from the cat-looking girl that she'd been riding with. Her lungs hadn't taken much damage, and she'd done her best to clear her blood of the deadly toxins that had been in the air, so she should be fine, she just wanted to be sure before leaving her alone. A short way away sat two of the three whom had saved them with their horses talking quietly, Randy in the middle tending to dinner for them all. The third of the other group lay flat on her back much like Olivia was, but whatever it was she suffered from they hadn't asked her to tend to it and she wasn't going to offer her services otherwise.

The one Olivia had been riding with rose suddenly, walking over to sit on her other side facing Bryanna. "How is she?"

"Well enough, for one who almost died," she sighed wryly in reply. "Olivia'll be fine, she's tough as nails and then some, usually. Hopefully she'll be back to normal by morning and we can get moving again..."

"Where are you headed?" asked Revlis curiously. "Maybe we can give you a lift for awhile. Especially if your friend needs the rest for awhile."

"Not sure, we're sort of loosefoots..."

"Oh...what do you do for a living, then? Perform? Dance? Sing?"

"Odd jobs. Whatever we can find, really."

"Sounds like fun."

"Well, we've seen better days."

"If you'll take a look at our friend you can have this, and maybe it'll help you along." Revlis produced a gold coin from her jacket. Meeting the healer's eyes, she added in a low voice, "I know you're running from something, I smell the wariness on you from across the clearing. I also know you're a Healer Mage. You take care of our friend, and we can part ways at dawn as if none of this ever happened. I don't care whatever it was you did, I won't tell anyone I saw you or what direction you went it, just look over my friend, will you?"

Bryanna hesitantly took the coin, looking it over before she stuffed it in her sleeve. It was too good to pass up at a time like this, she'd just hope she could trust the feline-ish lady to keep her word. Randy gave her an odd look as she stood and crossed the camp to the other side but said nothing as she sat down and went directly into a healing trance without so much as glancing at her soot-streaked patient.

Going through the same motions as before, she checked the lungs and patched up the heat-scalding that had been done there, easing the burned tissue back to normal a bit a time. Then going through and removing the toxins from the blood that had gotten in from the smoke-filled air. She wasn't much worse than Olivia, other than she'd waited longer to be healed. Still, her presence felt very familiar for some reason and Bryanna wondered who she was as she finally finished and pulled out of her trance.

Looking down at the sleeping figure, her eyes widened considerably. She KNEW that face. And not from this world either!

"Your name is Landon, right?" she asked her patient's companion, looking up at him intensely.

"Yes," he replied with a slight nod. "Why?"

"Don't look at me like I'm crazy, but I'm going to ask you some questions that you're going to HAVE to answer honestly, ok?"

He nodded uncertainly. "Fine, go on."

"Do you know what Earth is?" He stiffened slightly, his discomfort urging her to go on. "What American is? Where Providence High School is?"

"You're one of her schoolmates," he said suddenly, the realization hitting him like a ton of bricks. "Holy son of....we finally FOUND somebody!"

"Is she from there too?" asked Alyse, motioning to Revlis quickly.

"No, no, she's from here," he explained quickly. "Alyse obviously is, though."

"Alyse...I know that name." She pondered it a moment, then snapped her fingers suddenly. "She's from the original journey! The one who claimed herself as Amanda's cousin!"

"I can't believe we finally met up with someone," he said in amazement, shaking his head slightly as he glanced over at Randy who was giving them strange looks. "You might want to call your friend over and explain things before he bolts. That, and tell me your story. Why are you guys out here in the middle of the woods with nothing but your clothes and no home to speak of?"

"Randy get over here," she called to her partner. "Ok, now, where to start...I guess the beginning would be the best place, right? So, we started out here as Students at the Lightsbridge University trying to earn our way up from Journeyman to Master."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Alyse could not believe everything that had happened in just a few short hours as she sat on her horse, trotting towards the Lady's Mansion where Niko and the others were staying while Revlis remained behind with their three convict friends. Meeting people from her world in the middle of a forest fire....well, that's certainly something that didn't happen every day. And wrongly convicted ones too, but hopefully that wouldn't be much longer.

"Purpose of visit?" asked the Lieutenant at the front of the gate flatly. Two guards stood behind him, blocking the way.

"We need to see Master Goldeneye," replied Alyse, using his full name out of respect in the presence of strangers. "He isn't expecting us, but he should know who we are just the same."

"Leave your weapons and horses here," ordered the man, not even bothering to look up as he scribbled something down on a scrap of paper and handed it to a servant.

"We can't," retorted Alyse, matching him glare for glare as he finally looked up at them over his papers. "We are both Mages, sir, and perfectly capable of getting in without your assistance...however, I do believe it would go over better with your superiors if you let us in yourself." She gave her eyes a pinch of her power, manifesting itself there in the form of an eerie glow. Sure, her powers weren't suited to hurt him, but he didn't know that.

"Very well." He gave a terse nod to the guard beside him, giving him a quiet order before letting them pass. "Follow Dan, he will take you to the Master Goldeneye."

"Our thanks." They both dismounted and turned the horses over to the care of the stables, following the quick-moving man through the main courtyard and off to one of the smaller side ones. Down a series of halls they went, zigzagging back and forth until they finally reached a more private one, the four students they'd seen before all there sitting and eating their lunch with the two female mage teachers. The one who looked to be a blacksmith sat off to the side, talking to the man who was probably this mansion's regular smith about something, leaving their Master Goldeneye off by himself to one side intently reading a book.

"Sir!" said the guard, stopping beside him and snapping to a partial attention. "These guests are here to see you, sir."

"Thank you," said the elder mage, closing his book carefully without looking up as the guard departed quickly. "How may I...oh, it's you two again." He gave them a weary smile, motioning for them to sit silently. "I suppose this means your hunting didn't go well?"

"Oh no," replied Landon quickly with a grin. "It went very well, so well it couldn't have gone better than it did. However...we caught something more than we thought we would."

"Have you heard of three Lightsbridge students that supposedly went to Unmagic?" asked Alyse suddenly.

"There was something about a Master who was coming under question for awhile there, but little of it reached my ears," admitted Niko slowly. "Why?"

"The Council, though which one I'm not sure, tracked down three students who had been inadvertently helping the Master Mage, who was indeed an Unmagic Adept, and pinned them with his charges," explained the sensor slowly. "They managed to escape and find the man who did this to him, but I believe we got to him first and erased any and all evidence that might have aided them in clearing their names. Because of this they're still on the run, and if their caught they will likely be sentenced to death or slavery without a trial."

Niko paused, then asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"You're a prominent figure in both the Unmagic and the Mage's Councils, respectively," said Landon in a low voice. "It benefits OUR plans to have these three alive and well and free citizens, understand? We cannot clear their name, though, the Council doesn't know us and can't track our pasts in any of the usual ways. However..."

"I can," finished Niko with a slow sigh, sitting back in his seat as he did. "Are you sure these three a guilty of nothing?"

"Nothing other than blind stupidity," replied Alyse instantly. 

"Unmagic charges...those are very serious crimes," went on the mage slowly. "I can't just...well...can I meet them first?"

"Absolutely. And if you find them to be innocent, will you help them?"

He hesitated, the nodded. "Yes, I'll help them. You have my word as a Master mage."

"Good. Here's where we'll be staying, come drop in when you can. We'll be waiting."

Niko nodded, and put the paper in his pouch, glancing at the others who were watching curiously. "Can I bring a friend or two? The Council may not react to the letter of on Master...but of four, they would have to listen."

The two exchanged looks, then nodded slowly. "I suppose so."

"Good. Expect us tomorrow then, when things have settled down a little around here." 

"We will." The two rose and left, bowing politely to him before heading back to the front.

"Well, that went better than I thought," sighed Landon as he stretched, watching his companion out of the corner of his eye. "Now all we can do is hope he'll keep his word."

"Oh, he will," affirmed Alyse, drawing upon all the knowledge she ever had of the Far-seeing Mage from the books she'd read. "He's just that kind of guy."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Ben just watched as Artor walked away to go and get ready for dinner, sighing as he did. The boy had been distant with him all day, keeping their conversations short and away from what had happened the day before with a determination that surprised him. Not that Ben had tried to bring it up, but somehow everything they said kept coming back to that unfinished conversation. 

Getting up slowly, he quickly passed through the servants back hallways and down to his room to change for his supper-time fluting. Passing the same courtyard with the well they'd been in the day before he say the same young girl there struggling to lift her bucket full of water from the bottom of the well.

"Need some help?" he asked, not even considering not giving her some sort of assistance as he strode up beside her.

Squeaking in surprise, she let go as she jumped back and almost lost both bucket and rope completely as Ben dove for the rope and barely caught the tail end. "Oh!! Sorry!! I thought you were the M-....someone else."

"S'ok," he said with a grin, fixing the rope so it went back over the pulley before hauling up the bucket and carefully handing it to her. "No harm done, see?"

"Uh...thanks."

"No problem." He shrugged and grinned once more, turning to leave when he felt her catch his sleeve.

"Who are you?" she asked curiously. Blushing, she let go and added, "Sorry, if I sound rude. But...I've been a servant here all my life and I've never seen you before."

"I work in the kitchens when I'm not helping to amuse the Master's son, Artor," he replied simply. "That, and I play flute in the evenings for the Master and his son while they eat their meals. Sometimes I'll accompany the few dancers we have among the drudges when they come in to perform, but not often. They only need a good drummer, really."

"Oh! You're the 'privileged one.'" She said it with a bit of a sneer, backing off even more. "Did HE send you to befriend me? Dirty snake..."

"If you mean Artor, no," cut in Ben, puzzled at this change in mood. "And what makes you think I'm privileged? It's like walking a tightrope day in and day out, being friends with him. You saw how displeased he was with me the other night, I'm probably lucky he didn't tell his father or his father was too busy to care. I get better clothes, but only for when we're together. I eat the same food you do, do the same chores, probably sleep even less since the cook uses me to help her close the kitchen every night and get it prepped in the morning. It's not easy, let me say that. At least you're not always in the Master's presence, and he's a moody guy sometimes..."

"I see what you mean." She gave him a slight smile back, appraising him with her eyes as she did. "Ok, then...so why did you help me?"

"Does a person really need a motive anymore to help another person?" he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Ok, do you really want me to come up with a reason? Will that make you happy? I....like your smile. Sure. That's why I helped you. Now, I have to go get ready before I'm late and cook gives me a nice tanning for it. Bye!"

"Bye," she replied, hauling her bucket dutifully as she waved once at him and gave him one full smile with a blush. "And...thanks."

_Whoa, I really do like her smile..._ "Uh...you're welcome!"

A hidden figure in the shadows frowned, watching the two depart in opposite directions. 

Artor was not pleased.

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

"Oh Captain of mine," said Talia with a grand bow as Jenny came up on the main deck, bearing her staff as all of those of the fully Trader crew did. "There is none here who wish to have a good bout with our staves, and I was told by one original member you're quite handy with yours."

"Is that a challenge?" asked Jenny, raising her brows as she cocked her head lightly to the side.

"A friendly one," replied Talia with a wink. "Come on, just a few rounds. You can give up any time, I won't think any less of ya."

"Well, I don't know about that..."

"What, that I'll think less of you? Give me a little more credit than that!"

"No..." Jenny waved the others back, easily twirling her staff a few times before she fell into a defensive stance with a no-nonsense look on her face. "That I'll be the one giving up."

"Oh, now that's a challenge if I ever heard one...here I come!"

The fight was short, but intense. Talia reigned blows down on her Captain, attempting to find a hole or a weakness but every time she did realizing she'd been set up to strike the wrong place just like every time before. Jenny herself didn't attack for a long time, letting the taller and faster girl wear herself out trying to get through her tight defense as many times as she liked before suddenly striking with the swiftness and unpredictability of a snake.

The next thing the other Trader knew, she was flat on her back gasping for air with little swirlies in place of her eyes.

"GO JENNY!!" cried Nicole, a little overly elated for some strange reason that no one seemed able to fathom.

"Who was your staff teacher?" gasped the fallen Talia as she slowly came back to her senses, touching the sore spot right below her ribs. She hadn't been hit that hard, but it had been enough to knock the wind from her lungs. "That was...I've never seen anything quiet like that."

"It's a survivors style," replied Jenny with a twitch of her lips. She lowered her eyes and turned away slightly. "Just like my...friend who taught me."

"Oh..." Talia slowly got up and left her alone, the Captain going back to the railing of the ship and reminiscing to herself of old times with her teacher and friend in many things, Sean.

Goddess, she missed him sometimes.

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Kristen slid down the ladder, surprised to not see Briteyes already up and about as she usually was before dawn and still huddled in her blankets before the glowing fire fast asleep. Then again, she mused, she hadn't gotten back until well after midnight the night before playing at that one merchant's party. Walking over to her quietly, she took her shoulder and shook it gently. 

Big mistake.

Kristen wasn't sure just how it happened, but sometime in the next few seconds her arm was grabbed and a foot planted squarely in the middle of her chest, sending her flying across the room to tumble into a surprised Chris who'd just walked in the door.

"AHH!!"

"What the-!"

An awake and alert Briteyes crouched before them with a dagger drawn, panting heavily like a cornered animal before she suddenly seemed to snap out of it and calm herself quickly. "Oh, shoot...are you alright?!"

She rushed over to them, helping Kristen to her feet quickly and moving her to a chair before doing the same with the shocked Chris.

"Why was there a Kristen flying towards me as I walked into the kitchen?" he asked warily as she sheepishly gathered up her things and put her dagger up once more somewhere in the folds of her clothes.

"She tried to wake me up," replied Briteyes hesitantly, glaring at the Silven who just sat on the counter with the half a pastry and mug of tea someone had been kind enough to set her up with earlier that morning laughing at her. "I should of warned you guys, but I guess I figured it'd never happen..."

"Should've warned us of what?" asked Kristen slowly, rubbing her stomach where it now bore a nice foot-print. "Normal people don't attack others as they wake up, Briteyes."

"Normal people also don't sleep along side the road and have to worry about waking to being surrounded by rather unpleasant people," retorted the performer. 

"Train yourself out of it then, you live here now," said Chris with a shrug. "Look, I'm adding another room down here soon, so you can have your own, alright? You don't have to worry about having people attack you in your sleep anymore, ever again."

Briteyes didn't reply, merely picking up a clean mug and beginning to prepare herself some tea. "I'll try," she said after a long while, not looking at either of them. "But I won't be letting you rise before me, ever again."

"Oh, right...just like you never woke up late for school and almost missed the last bell to get in when you were driving yourself?"

"Oh, shut up..."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Brenna woke to sunlight streaming in from the window beside her, a worried Libby kneeling by her other side and blocking out part of the light as she held a cool cloth to her forehead.

"Brenna? Can you hear me?" 

The farmer girl nodded, blinking to get the haze out of her eyes as she slowly propped herself up on her elbows and looked around. Furniture and other stuff was knocked over, muddy footprints tracked everywhere in such multitudes that she couldn't deny that what she'd hoped was merely a dream was truly reality. Her head throbbed dully, Libby wiping away something warm and wet from the back of her head. Reaching her hand back there, she knew what it was even before she brought it back before her face.

Blood.

They really must've hit her hard to break the skin like that...

"What....where is everyone?"

"Rupal's still up in her bed," replied Libby slowly. "She won't come out of her room, I think they scared her when they burst in and tied her up. Kaitlin is with Cheeks, he got the living daylights beat out of him and won't be leaving his present bed for awhile, but she's fine. Apparently she's used to being roughly tied up in the middle of the night, or something. They tried to do the same to me, but my bunnies attacked them and they left my room alone, just leaving a guard outside it to make sure I stayed put until they finally left. Fanged rabbits aren't something they know how to deal with, I guess."

"Wait....that's only four," murmured the injured young woman quietly. "Where...what's happened to Jem? He was with Cheeks, wasn't he?" When Libby didn't answer, she looked at her long time friend to see her close her lips tightly and bow her head. "They...they didn't kill him, did they? Libby, tell me what happened to Jem!"

"No, they didn't kill him," replied the bunny woman slowly, closing her eyes as she did. "At least, we don't think they did. They took him with them."

"Took him with them?!"

"Jem's gone."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Olivia sighed as she sat in the Tavern room Alyse and Landon had managed to secure for them, pacing back and forth as Randy slept soundly on one of the soft, straw beds (or soft compared to the ground they'd been using lately) and Bryanna basked in the luxuries of a clean set of clothes and some hot coffee with a book for the first time in awhile.

Revlis and her two companions had possession of the only table in the room, talking quietly amongst themselves as they poured over a huge map. They marked on it occasionally, but what its importance was she really didn't know. Maybe they'd finally explain just what their job was later on. It was kind of odd to think she'd finally met up with someone from her own world, it had been so long since she'd actually met someone who she could say 'Your mama' to who wouldn't challenge her to a duel for it other than Bryanna and Randy. 

The mage Niko had already been up there once, actually, and had spoken with all three of them with his little spell-thingies on them. Right now he was down below in the common room holding a conference of some sort, supposedly, with other 'Master mages.' Hopefully things would go as well as they'd planned, but if they didn't...she had a back up plan of her own going right then. She knew she could freeze two or three of them before anyone could touch her or her friends, and if given the proper motivation Randy could burst a light in their eyes long enough to blind most of them for at least a few minutes. It would be a close call, but they could escape in a pinch, if things were to turn sour.

Someone knocked at the door right then, Revlis going to answer it only to be met with a short, irate looking Earth Dedicate with curly brown hair cropped closer to her head followed closely by Niko and another man and woman. The first one's eyes suddenly widened, her fist shooting out to grab the cat girl by the collar. "YOU!!"

"Ahh!! You said she wouldn't be coming!!!" cried Revlis as she scrambled to get away, hiding behind a surprised Alyse and Landon who just watched in shock. "Stupid, sensitive earth-mage types..."

"Say that again, and I'll take that black-furred hide of yours and turn it into a fur coat!" threatened the dedicate, falling silent as Niko put a hand on her shoulder. Revlis fell into the smallest form any had seen her taken on yet, a kitten that hopped up on the table and stuck her tongue out at her from behind Alyse's arm.

"That will be quiet enough," said Niko as he walked in, closing the door behind them all as they each found seats around the room somewhere. Bryanna moved to sit beside the now awake and yawning Randy, Olivia sitting on his other side as they waited nervously for the decision to be made. "Now...we've decided to help you three clear your names."

Randy whooped for joy and would've probably turned a few cartwheels right then and there if several female eyes hadn't pinned him to his spot with icy glares. "Uh...shutting up now."

"You're going to have to travel back to Summersea with us," added the other female lightly with a soft smile. "But I don't think you'll find that a hardship in the least.

"Not at all," replied Bryanna with a grateful smile. 

"You three," said the first female dedicate, looking over them carefully as she did. "I know you from somewhere...you've been to Urda's house and Winding Circle, haven't you?"

"For awhile," admitted Olivia with a nod and a slight grin. "You worked with us for a day or so. Believe me, we can't thank you enough for doing this for us now."

"Eh, you're good kids, and put me in mind of a few other young ones like yourselves who needed help a couple of times," replied the woman with a strange look on her face. "We need to go, though. Our students tend to cause lots of havoc when not carefully watched."

"They're good kids," amended the over woman with a twinkle in her eyes. "Just a bit...headstrong at times."

"We'll send word when we're ready to head out," offered Niko as they rose again and headed for the door, Alyse and Landon nodding gratefully as Revlis continued to hide behind them. "And we have two extra mounts from our original train...will that suffice for your added guests?"

"We'll manage," offered Alyse lightly with a smile. "Don't worry."

"We'll be going, then." The door shut behind them quickly, leaving the six others in peace once more.

Randy glanced about, then began to shout and whoop for joy once more as he did back flips and cartwheels around the room.

"He's a hyper one, isn't he?" asked Landon with a quirked eyebrow as he backed away slightly.

"Yeah, guess so."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Ben packed up his things after the lesson, safely stowing them away in the cubby Artor had let him borrow until the next day as the Master's son watched him closely. He felt his eyes marking his every move but did his best not to show it, playing it off as calmly as he could.

"You've always caught my eye as an odd one," said the boy suddenly, tilting his head to the side slightly as Ben just glanced up in puzzlement. "I suppose that's why I asked Father if I could play with you, and not one of the others."

"Why am I odd, sir?" replied Ben slowly, carefully phrasing his words to as not to even come close to offending his powerful friend.

"It's free time, so don't call me that," said the boy lightly as he hopped to his feet and motioned for Ben to follow him. They walked a ways, finally coming to one of the few windows from which you could see the overgrown gardens below with the maids hanging up the washing to dry as they chattered among themselves.

"See, right down there?" asked Artor as he pointed to where some of the younger ones were, folding up the sheets and blankets that had already dried. It was more than a bit chilly out that day, and Ben could tell by the clouds it would probably snow soon so he was just glad he wasn't out there with them. Suddenly he spotted her, the girl from the well.

"You mean her," he said simply, easily pointing her out among the crowds of others. Here, she smiled freely, friends with anyone and everyone who cared to be friends with her.

"Yeah." Artor frowned as he watched her, a hidden fire in his eyes. "She used to talk to me when we were little, and there were other boys here. But when they left she stopped, and wouldn't smile at me anymore. Father took me aside, and explained to me many things when I asked him about it, so I followed what he said and...she still didn't smile at me. But you...you just spoke to her, said something...and she smiled. Why?"

"You weren't exactly kind to her, sir," offered Ben hesitantly, backing up a step incase Artor should decide to lash out at him suddenly. A black eye wasn't too bad, but he couldn't play if his jaw or lips were swollen or his fingers too stiff too move. 

"Kind? Why should I have to be kind? She's my servant, belongs to me, she should give me what I want when I want it! I feed her, cloth her...or my father does, anyways. And someday that will be passed to me." 

"You can't force someone to smile," explained the servant slowly. "A smile is a physical show of happiness. Or joy. Or caring and love. A positive emotion of sorts. If the person doesn't feel something like this when they look at a person, they won't smile. Or if they do, it'll be an empty one, and that's even worse than no smile at all."

"And you get a smile by a show of...kindness?"

"Sometimes."

"...how do you know all this?" asked Artor as he looked over at Ben, the elder boy sighing slightly as he leaned on the window sill.

"My sister."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Nicole flitted out the corner to run into a wall of fur, blinking as she tumbled back to find the large, inquisitive eyes of a kitten looking down at her. It was an entirely gray fuzzy little thing except for a white spot in between its ears and paws and feet that were white as well. Sniffing her gently, she sat there stock still as it wrinkled its nose before grinning and licking her with its small (bur large to her) pink tongue. 

"Eww!!" Nicole leapt to her feet and backed away, rubbing the kitty slobber off her quickly. "Ack...it's a lot different getting licked when its your whole FREAKING BODY."

"Mew?" The kitten looked at her puzzledly, tilting its enormous head to the side as she wiped away the last of the wetness from her face. 

"Well, you are kind of cute," conceded Nicole, flying up to hover beside her ears and petting her gently. "Alright, very cute. But still...I don't remember anyone having cat on this ship. Guess you're new here, huh?"

"Mew." The kitten seemed to nod slowly, getting back up on its feet to explore a little more. 

"Oh, off to find some adventures, are you? Guess I might as well come along and make sure you don't get yourself into too much trouble."

"Mew!"

Nicole went and settled herself atop the kitten's back, urging her on with a gentle nudge of air from behind to keep on going. Riding her like a clumsy, young horse, she laughed and hung as the kitten pounced around the shadows of the kitchen and scuttled after the man different people on board, sometimes getting a quick scratch or pat on the head from those who noticed them. 

"Well, aren't you well-known?" offered Nicole as they bound their way up the steps onto the main deck. "Wonder why."

"Well, if it isn't little Socks. Talia's been looking for you again," said Trevor as he spotted them quickly, scooping them up easily as Nicole abandoned her post and sat on his shoulder instead.

"That's Talia's cat?" asked the nymph, frowning as she did.

"Yep, found her on the wharf the other day and brought her in when no one claimed her. Bright little thing, isn't she?"

"Yeah, I guess..." She hesitated, wanting to hate the cat for having such an owner as she but unable to. "Well," she whispered to the kitten with a final pat on the head. "It's not your fault you were picked up by that rotten brat. I'll come and see you later, ok?"

"Mew!!"

"Ok, bye!"

"Something wrong?" asked Trevor as she rose up to hover before him.

"No, just gonna go find Jenny. Later."

"Bye."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Cam was up and downstairs as Briteyes packed her usual lunch of some sliced bread with cuts of meat and cheese between them, a flask of water, and an apple or two. Silven stood on the counter beside her, going through some cartwheels and flips as if warming herself up for something. 

"Where is it you disappear to everyday?" he asked as she packed it away in her bag, tying her on sandals with her mask beside her at the table.

"The streets," she replied simply, motioning towards the front of the house where several different people bustled past this way and that. "You know, around."

"What do you do all day, then? Sit somewhere and play your lute?"

"Well...not ALL day..." She looked up at him, considering something as he stood there in his tunic and pants. "Want to come along?"

"Can I??"

"Sure, go as Kristen."

"Alright!! KRISTEN!!!"

Briteyes chuckled to herself as she listened to him bang about, Silven just hopping up on her shoulder and doing a final adjustment to her tunic and hat. 

"Ready?" asked the human lightly.

{Absolutely.}

"I can go!!" cried Cam as he leapt from the top of the ladder to the bottom in his boots and with a hat on, Kristen peeking down from the top with a sigh. "Behave!" she called after them, giving him a warning look. "I mean it!"

"He will, he knows better than that," promised Briteyes as they walked out the door and into the crowds that quickly surrounded them. "Come on now, cousin, time to earn our keep."

"Where are we going?" asked Cam as she wove in and out of the townsfolk, nodding back to the few who brightly greeted her or Cam in the early morning light. 

"Market place."

"But it's a zoo there!"

"And we'll be able to beat the crowds if we hurry, won't we? Come on."

They made it just before things began to fill up, Briteyes finding her usual spot of broken wall where she perched herself on top and Silven standing behind the hat she laid down to catch the coins that would be tossed her way. "Your voice isn't bad," commented the performer as she tossed him a tambourine all of a sudden out of her pouch. "And you can keep a steady tempo. Play along, ok?"

"Oh...ok!"

Pulling out her panpipes for once, she twiddled around a bit before settling into a rousing reel, smiling to herself as she gathered a small crowd and a few of the young people cleared a space and did an impromptu dance to some of her work. Going up a scale on the last note, she flew right into a steady jig, falling into the musical patterns as easily as breathing. Cam kept up as best he could, always pausing between tunes before going into some sort of a repetitive rhythm on the tambourine. Silven, besides keeping an eye on the hat, did dances and flips of her own to the beat of the music, enjoying herself greatly as she did.

The sun slowly passed overhead, the crowds coming and going at random intervals. Coins were slowly flipped into the hat, sometimes a handful at a time and sometimes just a lowly copper or two. But each coin helped, and she nodded to each as they went just the same with a grin or a wink if she happened to catch their eyes. Flying through some scales and ending on a high arpeggio, she decided that was enough at this spot for the day and headed out to take her music elsewhere.

"Where now?" asked Cam, slightly puzzled as he scooped up the hat and watched as she deposited the coins into her pouch quickly. "You never come home before the fourth bell, or at least the third anyways."

"Come on and I'll show you." They walked along a ways, Silven back up on Briteyes shoulder and watching everything around them intently. Finally they came to an open tavern of sorts, Briteyes greeting the owner lightly before going to the back corner and setting up there. A tankard of lemonade appeared at the table a moment later, the performer quickly devouring her lunch that she split between the three of them before pulling out her lute this time and tuning it to play.

Setting the hat out once again, she handed Cam a hand drum this time and placed the tambourine on the table in front of Silven. Once again, they drew a small crowd in the shady corner of the overhang, Silven dancing out rhythms to the short ditties and Cam keeping up with his drum as best he could. Again, the hours passed with the sun moving overhead and the boy hadn't even realized how much time had gone by until the barkeep sent some signal over to Briteyes and she wrapped up the last piece with a flourish. 

His back ached from sitting hunched over so long, and his palms were a little red from striking the surface of the drum again and again, but he still felt pretty good. Silven gave a last bow as their crowd drifted away, Briteyes packing up her lute and scooping up the hat to deposit their takings back in her bag. It wasn't as much as Kristen or Matt got paid for their classes, nor as much as Chris might make on a big commission, but even he had to admit it wasn't bad for a day's work.

"And that's how my days usually go," said Briteyes as they walked back out into the sun, pulling up her hood so she could remove her mask. Silven sat contentedly on her shoulder, rubbing her sore footpaws as she did. "What do you think? Boring?"

"Not at all," replied Cam as he thought back over the many different people he'd seen and the multitudes of reactions to their music. "...can I come again?"

Briteyes laughed. "Sure."

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Brenna resisted the urge to tug at the bandages that wrapped around her head, tramping along side the others despite how weary she felt. With so many feet churning the soil, it was easy to see just where the attackers had gone. At this point, anyways.

They'd decided the moment they'd gotten Rupal to come down from her room to follow them if they could. Jem was one of them, now, and they couldn't just abandon him, not after he'd lived with them for so long. So they'd packed some food and changed their clothes, binding Brenna's head wound carefully before setting out as quickly as they could.

She and Libby were in the lead, following the footsteps diligently with Rupal and Kaitlin right behind them. Cheeks, they discovered, couldn't walk. His knee had been knocked from its socket, and once placed back in correctly had been so throbbingly sore that he had passed out from the pain. So there they left him in his bed with a note, hoping to get back before he was in need of their assistance again.

Forcing herself to take step after step, a light rain began to fall, blurring her vision as it also blurred the tracks in front of her. "Oh shoot...."

"Come on!!"

Kaitlin took off first, following the trail as she'd been shown to as long as she could until she lost it, Libby reaching her first and easily picking it back up again. Only to lose it moments later as the pattering rain turned to downpour. Those they were tracking were nowhere in sight, and in a few seconds all signs they'd been there at all were wiped out completely. 

"No!!"

Brenna frantically searched as she shoved past the others, hoping to find something they'd missed...only to come up with nothing at all. 

"No," she said flatly, brushing off Libby as she walked on further, soaked to the skin and barely able to see in front of herself. "No, he's no gone! We're just not looking hard enough, there has to be a way!"

"Brenna!!" 

The girl stopped, looking at Rupal who stood there sadly shaking her head. 

"No, Brenna, he's gone."

"He is not!"

"Then where is he?!"

The clearing fell silent with the question none of them could answer, Rupal taking a few steps forward and grabbing Brenna's sleeve. 

"He's not coming back, Brenna. We're not going to be able to find him, not like this!"

"Then what are we supposed to do?!"

"What can we do! He's gone to somewhere we can't follow, and as much as I HATE to admit it, there's nothing we can do to change that! We don't know who they are, where they're from, or what they're doing with him. Our window of opportunity has shut, so...let's just go home. You're hurt, Cheeks was beaten senseless, the whole place is about to fall apart...we'll be lucky to live through this winter, we don't have the time to worry about the fate of one little boy."

The facts were harsh and cold, everyone stubbornly denying them in their heads, yet knowing in their hearts that it was true. Jem was gone, and he wasn't coming back to them.

Ever.

♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦δ♦

Depressing chapter, I know. Brenna's not dead no more, though, you should be happy about that. ^_^ 

And now as usual: __

_Happy Birthday to you!_

_Happy Birthday to you!_

_Happy Birthday dear Jenny and SSS!!_

_Happy Birthday to you!!_

Yeah, that's right, our dearest Jenny, cook and Captain, is 18 this last week, please note that in your reviews. And Today is the One Year Anniversary of SSS, this very story. 18 28+ page chapters in a year, not bad, eh? Let me know what you think, feed back is very warmly welcomed! 

~CB~

'For everything that doesn't move and it should, there's DW-40, for everything that does move and it shouldn't, there's duck-tape. They make the world go round.'


	19. ,

Wow...it feels like forever since I've written for this story. And it kind of has been, hasn't it? Sorry for the long wait, guys, I haven't even had time this summer to update what's supposed to be my regular story more than once though so it's not like I've just been lazing about. If you've forgotten what happened thus far (like I did : P) you might want to go reread chapter 18 just to refamiliarize yourself with the story line thus far and such. Thanks to those of you who still reviewed, you are my most loyal and faithful fans!! And now, I present to you after a long, exhausting wait: Chapter 19 of Summersea Saga.

Chris woke up earlier than usual, getting out of bed and pulling on a shirt over his wrinkled pants as he shuffled over to the ladder and slid down it quietly. Coming to the counter, he found a pot of coffee already made with an empty mug in the sink, a slice of the bread they'd made last night and a couple of sausages and rounds of cheese gone as well. Turning to the table were Briteyes usually sat in the morning, he was surprised to find it empty and the blankets before the fire folded up neatly with a note pinned to the top.

"Hey, Chris!" called Cam from above, scampering down the ladder a few moment's later as he hurriedly tucked his shirt in. "Would you mind if I...where's Brite?"

Chris frowned as he walked over to the blankets, picking them up as he checked in the corner and found all of her usual belongings cleared out as well. "I dunno..."

"But...she has to be here, right?" Cam looked around, hurt filing his eyes as did disappointment. "I was gonna go with her again today around town!"

"Go with whom?" Kristen appeared at the bottom of the steps, as grumpy as usual as it wasn't noon yet. "And where's Amanda? I want her to lend me Silven for the day..."

"You're too late for that," murmured Chris, handing her the note with his jaw set.

"Why? What is this?" Kristen scanned the bit of parchment, her eyes narrowing as she did. "Oh, no she did NOT!"

"She did," replied Chris quietly as he scooped up a handful of coppers and a few silver crescents. "Here's what she left to pay for the food she took, just like it says."

"No! She was supposed to stay here, with us, where it's safe..."

"Where's my cousin?" asked Cam, becoming increasingly agitated as two of the only adults he looked up to looked at each other in equal parts of anger and worry.

"We don't know," admitted Chris with a shrug as he pocketed the coins and moved to put the blankets back in the closet. "She's gone off to wander again."

"Why??"

"Wish I knew," replied Kristen quietly. "I thought she was happy here. And it wasn't like she was a burden to us, we could handle another two or three mouths if we had to."

"Well come on!" Cam ran for his shoes, lacing them up as he looked at the pair expectantly. "She can't have gone far, and maybe we can convince her to come back home!"

"Cam, I don't know if-"

knock knock

Everyone paused as Cam got up and answered the door, their visitor hidden to the rest of the room as he conversed with whom ever it was quietly.

"Kristen," he called after a moment over his shoulder. "It's for you, I guess."

"Who is it?" she replied, the note momentarily forgotten as she smoothed her clothes out of habit incase it was a customer.

"That one guys servant, the one who won't leave you alone. He says it's urgent."

"Gees, not him again..." She went to stand beside Cam, nodding courteously to the caller though she wondered with some trepidation what he could want. "Good day, sir, what can I do for you?"

"His lordship the Baron requests your presence at the ball in honor of his brother's birthday," announced the servant with the air of the utmost importance as he handed her the scroll.

"A ball, huh?" asked Chris as he came up behind her, crossing his arms over his chest. "Sounds like it might be fun..."

The servant cleared his throat, giving him an icy look. "The invitation is for the lady Kristen ONLY, Trader." He spat the last word out like a curse.

"Tell the Baron I will consider his offer," stated Kristen firmly as she gave Chris as quelling look as he tried to advance on the servant. "Good day."

"But, milady, he-"

SLAM

"That was racist is what that was," muttered Chris as he turned his back on the door, his jaw still set in a frown. "Bigot..."

"Are you gonna go?" asked Cam as he sidled up along side Kristen, reading the scroll over her shoulder.

"Not sure yet, but we've got other things to worry about," she replied as she tossed it on the table carelessly. Giving him a grin, she pulled on her boots and grabbed her light cloak. "Let's go find Amanda, ok?"

"Alright!"

"Look for this sign," said Cheeks as he held up a bright red bit of yard wound around a twig. "There'll be a trap under those tree roots if you find one. And be careful, if there is something in it you don't want it to break free."

"Yeah, yeah, we know..." Libby stuck out her bottom lip, holding Pinky close to her chest.

"You better be keeping an eye out, though," warned Brenner with a shrug as she motioned to the woods around them. "You're the one with the sling, don't forget."

"Believe me, I now."

Hours passed as they scoured the woods together, finding absolutely nothing alive for seemingly miles around as they tramped along tiredly. Finally, reaching what they assumed was the far edges of their property, and with nothing to show for it, Cheeks located the last trap and began to kneel by it quietly.

"Don't even bother, there's probably nothing there," grumbled Libby as Pinky moved up to her shoulder, sitting there blinking boredly.

"We could have some rabbit stew tonight, if you'd let us," commented Cheeks roughly as he pulled back the leaf cover, doing so slowly so as to not startle anything that might be in there

"You're not eating Pinky!"

"We won't have to," said Brenna gratefully as Cheeks suddenly pulled out a skinny little rabbit by its ears. "That's kinda sad, though, hours of searching and that's all we could come up with...it won't last more than a meal."

"It's better than nothing." Cheeks shoved it in his haversack, setting the trap once more in hopes of catching another later on. "Come on, let's go home."

Briteyes paused at a rise overlooking the fair city of Summersea, chewing on a bit of bread and cheese as her breakfast as Silven snuggled around her neck.

{The other's aren't going to be happy with you} commented the squirrel as she flicked her tail lightly. {In fact, they'll probably be downright pissed.}

"I couldn't just stay there forever," replied Briteyes sadly, turning away as she began to walk down the road once more. "My dreams still haunt me, and I have to figure out what it all means. We're lucky Chris was the only one who saw that one night, if it had been any of the others there's no way we would've been able to leave..."

{I still say you should've told them all the truth} put in Silven, rubbing her ears thoughtfully.

"What truth, that I can't remember what the heck happened to me during the majority of what I think was my first two years here and I got the absolute crap beat out of me and ended up dying?" The performer snorted as she drew up her hood and put her mask in place. "No, things are better this way."

{For you maybe} cut in the squirrel, a mournful note in her voice. {I liked being pampered and scratched all the time...and I can't say much for your choice of timing. Right in the dead of winter is not when I would choose to take on a wander lust."

"Getting a little too into the role of the squirrel, now, aren't we?" said Briteyes teasingly, ignoring the latter remark.

{Excuse me for taking advantage of the fact that everyone things I'm a simple animal} replied her fuzzy friend in mock anger. {Especially with that big guy, Chris, it was so much fun just to screw with his head...}

"He's the only one who still thinks you're just an animal, actually," murmured her companion in amusement. "I wonder how long that's gonna last."

{Who knows...}

Falling into an easy silence, they walked on until they reached a cross roads of sorts.

"Which sounds better to you, Lanville or Laurel Grove?" asked Briteyes, reading the signs as she paused beneath them.

{What's the third way?}

"Back towards the temple. We're not going there right now, especially after we just slipped away a few weeks ago."

{You seem to do that a lot...}

"Yeah, well...which way?"

{Laurel Grove.}

"The place of flowers it is, my fuzzy friend."

{I'm not fuzzy} huffed Silven, twitching her tail in irritation. {Just...covered in fur.}

Briteyes laughed, setting one foot in front of the other as they went to discover another place, and possibly what it was the drove the performer to wander endlessly.

Bryanna, Olivia, and Randy sat side by side out in a side chamber, dressed in mages robes that Alyse and Landon had lent to them as they waited for their time of judgment.

"Are you sure this was a good idea?" whispered Randy, fiddling with his belt nervously as his newly-cut hair stayed out of his eyes for the first time in awhile. "I mean, that Niko guy said he'd help up but how can we know for sure..."

"He's going to," said Bryanna simply, keeping her hands folded in her lap as she forced herself to remain calm and collected. "He gave us his word that he would."

"And the other mages with him believed us," added Olivia convincingly. "Alyse wouldn't have just turned us over to the dogs, that's hardly in her best interests when everyone has to be present to return home, right?"

"Well, we don't actually know what happens when someone dies," admitted Bryanna after a few moments of thought, shrugging as she did. "There've been close calls from what I remember, but as to what would have to occur if one of us were to lose our lives...I just don't know."

Randy snorted, clenching his hands into fists as he looked down at his feet. "That's not very reassuring."

"They're ready for you."

Three pairs of eyes looked up to see Nikolaren Goldeneye standing in the doorway, giving them a reassuring look as they stood and followed him to a bench before the grand counsel of mages.

"State your name, rank, and avenue of magic," ordered the head of the counsel, and elder man swamped by his black robes though his eyes were still as sharp as ever regardless of how decrepit his body had become. "Niko, if you would please."

"Of course." All three were bathed in a silver glow, the Master mage behind them keeping his eyes concentrated on them as they stood in turn and recited the specified information.

"Olivia, journeyman, ice mage."

"Bryanna, journeyman, healer."

"Randy, journeyman, light mage and illusionist."

"All are satisfied that they are the accused, aye?"

The entire panel answered as one, for Niko's spell had not wavered once nor had it changed colors as it will in the presence of a lie.

"Aye."

"Then we will proceed. Olivia, stand and recount to us the experience as you remember them during those times. Start specifically with the part you mentioned in your written testimonies as right before you met the Unmagic Master."

"Yes, sir." She stood, waiting patiently for Niko to place her under his truthspell once more before she began. "My two companions and I left our last teacher and in hopes of finishing our credits sooner decided to visit that particular teacher on the map right away as he was the closest at the time..." And so it began, telling of their strange greeting upon arrival and of their differing opinions of him at the time.

"Why did you, of all of them as a mage of light, enjoy his presence as one who was saturated in the darkness the most?" queried one of the other panelists when Randy stood up to speak.

"I don't know," he admitted with a shrug, the spell never wavering over him as he continued. "Whether it was because of his spells or my own stupidity, we can't say for sure, but if I'd known truly the harm my actions would have caused I never would have agreed to help him so."

"Hindsight is always crystal clear," commented one of the others, a bitter note in his voice. "However, why did you not stay and stand trial?"

"We were scared," he said simply with a shrug. "Scared, and alone. No one would tell us what was going on, we were treated like animals for the most part. What were we supposed to think? All we knew was on the third day, something was going to happen to us and it was likely not going to be pretty. So we escaped and made a run for it, hoping to find the man who'd put all this on us and get him to clear our names."

"That wasn't an incredibly well-thought plan."

"We weren't going for well-thought as much as saving our lives," shot back the light mage, crossing his arms in irritation. "We'd been framed, and we wanted out."

And so it continued, every detail that was relevant about the entire trip being dragged out into the open until it appeared they'd questioned the trio enough to satisfy their doubts and as one the panel of mages stood.

"We have decided," said the head of the counsel, nodding to all present. "These three who stand before us today did not knowingly submit to the teachings of or willingly participate in the distribution of the unmagic. The one, Randy, who kept the one medallion with him, though he willingly disobeyed the orders of his companions did not understand the true implications of the device and was merely attempting to hold on to part of the Master who for some reason was dear to him. As such a crime was still committed, you, Randy, are sentenced to forever hold the title Journeyman for as long as you live. Your two companions may advance to Master hood as their abilities allow them, but you have shown poor judgment and an inability to handle the responsibility that would come with such a title. All other charges are here by dropped, though and your names cleared from the criminal records. That is the final word of the Counsel of Mages. We are adjourned."

"That's so not fair!" cried Randy as the mages in the room began to stand and leave, giving his two companions looks of disbelief. "Me? Irresponsible?! The nerve!"

Bryanna rolled her eyes as Olivia just chuckled lightly. "Come on," said the ice mage, leading the way towards the door. "It's not so bad, Randy. Who cares if you'll never get higher or not? And think about it this way: we're finally free."

The three unmagic hunters tracked down the trio of student mages as soon as they saw the meeting was breaking up, dressed in their usual black and gray uniforms. Spotting them off to one side of the giant hall with Niko at their side, they grinned to each other as they hurried over.

"I see it turned out alright for you," said Landon as he pounded Randy on the back, getting a suspicious look in return.

"What, you didn't know if it would or not?!" cried Randy, looking more than a little distressed.

"Well, we thought the information provided would be convincing enough but we never knew for sure," replied Revlis with a shrug.

"They are the senior counsel of mages," added Alyse with a slight shrug. "And really, there's absolutely nothing we could have done about it if they'd decided not to believe you."

"I doubt the mage's counsel will ever grow so narrow-sighted," commented Niko a bit acidly. "Everything turned within these three's favor, and there is no longer a need to talk of what has transpired over the last few months or even days."

"Yeah, and while you three have been given a 'holiday' of sorts here until Lightsbridge calls for you again, we three have to get back to work," put in Landon lightly. "Enjoy your time here while you can."

"You're not staying with us?" replied Bryanna, looking a little surprised. "But I though...?"

"We can't, we a job to do and you can't come with us," explained Alyse in a low voice a she gave them a slight smile. "Don't worry, even if you don't know where we are we'll always be able to get in touch with you if we need to. All you need to do is concentrate on whatever task is set for you next, and leave the fighting in the shadows to us, ok?"

"I'd rather stick with you, personally, but if you insist," muttered Olivia, looking slightly disappointed. "We've been used to living on the edge for awhile now, going back to a normal routine is gonna get old real fast."

"I don't think you'll have to stay that way for long," Revlis assured her uneasily. "Things have been picking up a little...we'll call you if we need anything."

"What if we need you? How are we supposed to find you?" asked Randy sarcastically. "That's all real nice that you'll call us if we need a hand but leaves us with only a few options if the situation goes the opposite way."

"Take this, then." Landon tossed a medallion at him, similar to the one he'd worn before but with a cross on the front and some words in another language on the back that he couldn't read. "Any town with a tavern or inn that has the symbol of a black predator, give this to the owner and say you want to talk to a messenger. They should be able to get you what you need."

"Alright..." Randy put it in his pocket, still wary of the whole thing. "So...we'll be seeing you, then?"

"Eventually." Alyse handed over a pouch of gold that Bryanna accepted in surprise. "Keep yourselves out of trouble. Bye."

"Ok, bye."

"See ya."

"Later..."

Their words still hung in the air when they could no longer see the three hunters, for they had disappeared like smoke into the crowd around them.

"Come on," said Niko, who acted like none of the past conversation had just occurred and probably hadn't understood the majority of it for that matter. "Let me show you to your temporary quarters and get you some proper student robes again. Can't have you showing up at the school in commoner's robes, hm?"

Bryanna smiled, feeling like a huge burden had been lifted from her chest as they walked outside, free to roam as they pleased without fear of being chased ever again. "Of course not."

Jennifer strolled along the beach at the port where they were now staying, Nicole riding on her shoulder hidden among folds of her cloak as they spoke quietly.

"Oi, I don't think I've been off the ship in a couple of months," said Nicole with a sigh as she enjoyed the salty breeze and lack of movement as Jenny stopped and leaned against a pile of rocks to admire the sunset of the sea.

"None of us have," laughed Jenny as she took a seat there in the sand, the rocks making a fine backrest as Nicole jumped off and stretched her legs a bit.

"Everyone was let off board for a least a little while last week except me," shot back the incensed nymph with a sigh.

"Yeah, well, there isn't really anything you can do for us in the city," Jenny reminded her as usual. "People are sent in to buy things, to hire carpenters, to sell items, to barter for other goods....you can't really do any of that, Nicole."

"Not my fault..."

"I know, still not much I can do about it."

Nicole wandered around a bit, smiling when she saw a conch shell much like the one Trevor had show her only to scowl when she recalled who he had found it with. "Hey...Jenny?"

Her captain glanced down at the only crew mate who addressed her by her first name ever. "Yeah, Nicole?"

"Do you think I'm worthless as a nymph?"

Jenny looked down, completely caught of guard. "What?! Worthless?! Hardly, who else gets us from port to port safely? Not me, I can't even steer the ship."

"Yeah, but while we're at port there's practically nothing for me to do," muttered Nicole, kicking the sand in a huff. "Nothing that I'm good at..."

"You mean nothing for you to do that Trevor will notice you for," coughed Jenny with a grin.

"..." Nicole just looked away, pouting slightly.

"If I may point something out..." Jenny frowned, shrugging as she did. "You're six inches tall. I love you like a sister, but it's not like Trevor is going to randomly one day become six inches tall just like you."

"Doesn't mean I can't dream."

"Be careful what you wish for, though. It just might come true."

"_Because I'm too nice to say no..."_

Those same words haunted Kristen's mind as she allowed herself to be moved with the other guests into the grand hall, each on presented to the Baron and his visiting brother who's birthday was the occasion of the day's festivities. Dressed modestly in a simple, but still beautiful green gown that brought out the color of her eyes with her hair piled on top of her head and just a touch of the facepaint that the dressmaker had lent to her out of a desire to blend it, it had just the opposite effect of that. More than a few heads had turned at her entrance into the receiving hall, and she wondered if she'd dressed inappropriately or there was something wrong with her appearance as she waited to be presented along with the rest.

"My lord Baron!" called the same servant as she stepped up to the top of steps when it was her turn. "The Lady Kristen of Summersea!"

Seeing as there were no others holding in Summersea other than the Baron who lived in the citadel that was an obvious indication that she was either a merchant born or lower. There were a few such as the Baron who had invited her tonight who's titles included only that and no land to speak of, but there were no single ladies in a such a position at the moment and she would've been chased by every single man wishing to improve their station for twenty miles around if that had been the case. Seeing some turn their noses up at such a titling, she merely held her head high and carefully made her way down the steps to the bottom where the Baron rose quickly to meet her with open arms, beckoning his brother to do the same.

"My fair lady!" he cried, flushing as she curtsied properly at the edge of the dais where they sat. "It gladdens my heart that you agreed to join us this evening! How goes things with your business?"

"As well as can be expected, Baron," she replied, nodding politely as she did.

"Very good! Brother, this is the lady I have spoken to you of those many times before!"

A man of younger years than his sibling rose from the other seat on the dais, bowing low as Kristen dropped into another curtsey out of respect rather than desire to impress. Tall and well built unlike his sibling, he had black hair pulled out of his face that likely reached to his shoulders and bright brown eyes full of mischief. "Well met, Lady Kristen, my brother has indeed espoused quite often upon your many attributes and beauty." Keeping his eyes on her own, he added, "For once, it seems he has told the truth."

"You flatter me," she said tightly, lowering her eyes as a proper guest should though she beginning to hate this more by the moment.

"Please, you must be my guest of honor tonight," said the Baron as he motioned for another chair to be brought, moving to escort Kristen to her newly designated seat though she tried desperately to decline without seemingly impolite.

"My lord, that is not necessary...I am only a common born...please, sir...it would be too great an honor."

"Nonsense, the honor is all mine! Please, Gary, continue with the introductions!"

"As you wish, my lord."

Kristen pasted a fake smile on her face, retreating back in the recesses of her mind as she zoned the majority of the rest of the introductions from her thoughts and began to devise instead the many ways she might kill the Baron without getting blamed. She had settled on daggers of ice in his heart and neck when it was finally finished and everyone moved to make room for the performers on stage. Clearing out the middle of the hall, it was not long before dance squares had formed in the area by the younger members of the group.

"I hope my brother has not bored you entirely to death," offered the Baron's brother as he sidled up alongside Kristen who had until then managed to make herself a rather well-concealed wallflower for quite some time with the Baron off talking to some of his more important guests. "Allow me to introduce myself properly, Lady Kristen. I am Sir Bradley, knight to Duke Verdis and trainer of the majority of his personal guard."

"I wasn't aware that the Duke had knights," put in Kristen, a little curious despite her dislike of the social function in general.

"We're not openly spoken of as the majority of the policing is work is done by the city guards," he explained patiently. "And the title knight is very rarely bestowed upon even his personal body guards, let alone the guards of his citadel."

"Then it must have been quite an honor for you to receive it then," commented the teacher with raised brows.

"No, it meant I was the son of a lord with no titles, land, or money to speak of," he laughed a bit sardonically. "My father, a Baron who earned his title through money rather than land, passed everything to my elder brother whom he assumed as more responsible at his time of death and left me with a pension to live off of until I was 21 and a contract to train me as a Citadel Guard."

"...oh."

"Sir Bradley, my lord the Baron requests your presence at this time," said a servant as he appeared beside the knight, tugging his shirtsleeve lightly.

"My apologies, Lady Kristen, perhaps we will be able to better acquaint ourselves with each other later on," said Sir Bradley with a bow, following the servant through the sea of bodies to where his brother stood.

"Not likely," murmured Kristen as she turned and disappeared towards the exit of the room. She'd had enough and she was going home. The baron would forgive her, he always did no matter what, and it's not like she really cared either way.

"You're going?" asked a familiar voice, her turning around to see her student standing there with a tired grin on his face.

"Yeah, sorry, tell your dad I felt sick or something."

"Sorry that you had to come," he replied ruefully. "I like ya, teach, you're a good fighter and all that....but I don't want you as a mom."

"Don't worry, I don't want you to be my son, either. No offense, but I like being single and not being a Baron's wife," chuckled Kristen in understanding.

"None taken. That, and my dad's a wuss." The kid shrugged as Kristen gave him an odd look. "Well, he is."

"Ok...yeah. Well, I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Uh huh, bye!"

Wondering what his mother must've been like with the truly pathetic father he had, Kristen went outside and hailed the first public carriage that was stationed outside.

"Where to, miss?" asked the driver as he hopped down from his seat and opened the door for her.

"Home," she said simply, rattling off her address as he jumped back up into his seat and nudged the dozing horse into a steady walk. Gazing out the open side, she let her mind wander for awhile until it hit her that they should've turned a few lanes ago to head in the right direction.

"Sir," she said impatiently. "Why are we going this way? It'll take forever if you follow this to the main road..."

THUMP

Before the dress-clad combat teacher could react a short sword was at her throat, it's blade gleaming in the moonlight.

"That's cuz we're not going to your home, girlie," leered it's holder as two more figures appeared, one pressing a scented cloth over her mouth and the other holding up a length of rope. Everything started to grow hazy from there, and the last thing Kristen knew for sure was her captors had ordered the cab to speed up as she drifted off into a forced darkness.

Brenna sat with her back to the warmed stones around the fireplace, wrapping the strips of cloth more firmly about her cold hands. This was the only room of the house they were allowing themselves to heat, and even with just that they were running through the firewood they'd managed to collect with Cheeks barely able to hobble around as it was faster than they'd thought.

"Hey," said Rupal as she came and had a seat by the low flames, huddling in on herself for warmth as she stuck her frozen fingers as close as she could bare to the fire.

"Hey," came the low reply, Brenna nodding slightly as she moved onto her feet and stuffed even more rags into her tunic. "Looks like things are going real rough, huh?"

"Yeah, I'd say so..." Rupal sighed, her face thin and pale from days of being too cold and too hungry. "Brenna, either we have to get some food or we have to leave. I don't think if we stay here like this we're going to make it until spring..."

"We keep finding just enough to keep us going," cut in the plant mage, refusing to listen. "And we'll keep doing that all winter if we have to. We're not leaving."

"Cheeks is getting worse," went on the family accountant, keeping her eyes on the fire as if to firm her resolve to get through it all. "Kaitlin is thin as a ghost, Libby's feeding half her share to her bunnies who are so close to dying it's not even funny...and look at you and me. Barely alive, barely able to crawl out of bed in the morning. How much longer do you think we can go on like this?"

"As long as we have to."

"....we're not going on if we're dead."

"No one's going to die!" Even Brenna looked slightly surprised by the fierce note in her voice, sitting back down from her half-standing position that she'd risen to when she'd yelled. "Look...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled..."

"We can't stay here," cut in Rupal, rising slowly as she did and backing away towards the door. "I just don't see how we'll survive if we do..."

"We will," grumbled Brenna to herself as she leaned back against the warmed stones once more. "We're not leaving my farm. Ever."

Ben tramped through the thick snow outside in the courtyard, enjoying the cold air on his face and the way his breath came out in puffs of steam as he wandered around to the edges of the fields where he and the Master's son usually played. Stooping down, he picked up a handful of snow, rolling it into a ball before putting it back on the ground and rolling it through the snow until it was as tall as his knees. Setting it aside, he dug around behind it and made an hole all the way to the ground with the snow taken from it added to the huge ball of snow that quickly became a wall.

Artor walked out right about then, looking amused at his efforts as he stood along side the structure in puzzlement. "What are you doing, Ben?" he asked in a friendly manner.

"Making a snowfort," came the simple reply, the servant giving his master a quick grin before he ducked down into it again.

"What's it used for?"

"Snowball fights."

"Snowball fights?" Artor frowned, looking confused. "What's that, some sort of tournament?"

Ben laughed. "Sort of..." He scooped up a handful of snow, forming it into a ball before lobbing it at his companion. Artor ducked just in time, anger flashing across his face.

"Watch it, there! There are my new robes, father will be furious if I get them dirty," he snapped, folding his arms on his chest as Ben rolled his eyes while he had his back to him.

"You can't play if you're not willing to get a little dirty," replied Ben with a laugh. "And if you don't want to, I know some other servants who'd probably wait until tonight when we have everything finished to have a war with me then."

"A war, you say?" Artor unfolded his arms, looking at him curiously. "What sort of game is this, anyways?"

"This is my fort," explained Ben slowly, wondering how it could not be obvious. "These," he scooped up some more snow into a ball and tossed it into the air so it fell with a splat "Are our weapons. No fists or anything, just snow. The point is to wage a war so you can overrun your opponent's fort. I built the fort so I get to have it. You have to try and take it from me without destroying it."

"What good does that do?" scoffed Artor, looking superior once more. "It'd be so much easier just to storm and destroy it."

"Yeah, but then what would you have to defend in return?" replied cockily. "The fort provides protection, which you don't have on open ground, and if you can take it you have the advantage."

"So why do you get to start with the advantage and not me?" Artor raised his brows suspiciously, acting more the spoiled brat today than usual despite his first impression.

"Because I went and built it. Builder gets first play," explained Ben, attempting to be patient for the sake of his neck.

"That's not fair! I didn't even know we were playing it."

"Yeah, well, I guess you could come and build one before me tomorrow." Ben shrugged, trying to make amends. "One that would be custom designed for you. And then you'd get to start with that and I'd be stuck with the open ground."

"That is true...and your fort really isn't that much to speak of..." Ben ignored the slur on his fort and waited for the noble's son to make up his mind as he stood there beside his fort.

"Alright, I'll wage this war with you," said Artor after a few more moments of thought, giving Ben a sly grin as he scooped up some snow and lobbed it at him quickly. "Beginning now!"

Ben ducked, returning fire as he dove into his fort. "You're on!"

"What's that?" asked Randy as he walked into their private quarters, finding Olivia and Bryanna sitting across from each other with a bottle in between them and a goblet of red liquid in each of their hands.

"A good vintage to celebrate with, as any good victory should be!" replied Olivia with a rosy tint to her cheeks, giving him a warmer smile than usual. "You should try some of it."

"What, you're not still pissed at me for everything that happened?" he grinned dryly, about to turn around and leave again.

"Nah, we are, we're just too intoxicated to care at the moment," put in Bryanna lazily.

Randy turned back around, noting their slight unsteadiness as he walked towards, reaching for the single empty glass. "Then I think I will. How long have you two been at it already?" He dragged over another chair, sitting in between them with his feet on the table.

"Oh...however long it takes the two of us to get through half of that," giggled Bryanna, reaching for more as she drained her cup to the dregs. "Man, that's good stuff...where'd you get it again, Olivia?"

The ice mage winked, shrugging as she did. "Around somewhere."

Randy, oblivious to the look the two girls shared, nodded as if in understanding. "Pay a fair price for it?"

"Fair for us..."

The light mage laughed, his mood instantly light and merry as his face flushed slightly and he drank more of the delicious elixir. "Mm, I don't think I've ever had wine like this before. Hope they have it back home."

"They probably do it's just really expensive," commented Bryanna lightly. "This is better than anything we had at Bren's house.

"There is more were this came from, right?" asked Randy as he noted there was only a forth of the bottle left, and he only getting to his second cup.

"Yeah, I think I could do that..." Olivia was up and down the hall before he could ask from where, back again moments later with another two bottles of the same kind. "This good enough?"

Bryanna smiled as all the glasses were topped off again. "For now, it'll be plenty."

And so the three mages celebrated their victorious case in the courts of mages and their final return to freedom. With some rather interesting results in the morning as well...

Alyse and Landon walked down the now-familiar halls of the hideout where they'd first been introduced to their lives as Unmagic Hunters, nodding to the same gray-swathed guards that appeared in the halls occasionally now with familiarity rather than fear. The great hall had not changed in the least, the same controlled chaos everywhere with soldiers and mages eating and planning at the same tine on the huge tables than ran the length of the room. Making their way to the dais in the front, the same six who were there the first time they'd visited were there again, all standing as they got closer and bowing as they did the same in return.

"You have returned," said Elcarth, one of the six, as they sat as one with Alyse and Landon still standing before them. "Safe and sound, it seems, as well."

"Yes, as requested," replied Alyse steadily. "The Unmagic Master we suspected of infiltrating the Master Mages as a teacher has been exterminated, as well as the last of the taint he left behind. A huge amassing of unmagic users was dealt with and all were terminated, as well as a cache of unmagic found to the north."

"Sounds like you've been busy," commented another of the elders. "It was reported that you attended a mage's court session in Summersea. What was your purpose of lingering there?"

"We discovered the three who were charged with spreading the unmagic as students for the Unmagic Master," explained Landon quickly. "Thus, we attended their trial."

"I assume justice prevailed."

"Justice in that they were cleared of the charges and given their freedom, yes," replied Alyse sharply. "They were truth-tested and found to be innocent, as well as clear of the taint other than the overshadowing of being in the presence of it for far too long."

"How were they unaware of their actions?"

"Two did not even know the objects used for the spread of the taint were being left at their every stop, the third did not realize he left his teachers a poisoned death rather than a surprise gift." Alyse frowned, shaking her head slightly. "No, he did not realize what his actions had caused until it was much too late."

"I see...well, you have reported everything?"

Landon nodded firmly. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Rest tonight, come have breakfast with us in the morning to discuss some things and then you must be off again," said Elcarth with a note of regret in his voice. "It is a grueling pace, I know, but you are our only Seer and Destroyer right now, we cannot afford to let you rest long."

"We understand," said Alyse simply with a slight bow, trading glances with Landon before they bowed once more and left the elders seated at their table.

"I shall relish this night of sleep as much as I can," commented the sword-bearing young man as they made their way to the food line, occasionally waving to someone they recognized. "Who knows when we'll see a decent bed again after this?"

"Unfortunately," added Alyse as she took up her tray, looking over the selection of sliced breads, cheeses, and cold meats hungrily. "That is all too true."

Trevor and Talia both reported to the Captain's cabin, each wondering what they'd been called for as they met outside the door.

"I look alright?" asked Trev as he straightened his tunic, trying to tug out the wrinkles from sitting over a desk so long.

"You look fine," replied Talia, trying to comb out her wind-swept braids. "Besides, I don't know what you could be worried about. You know the Captain better than most of us do!"

"Yeah, but when we were just a small crew she didn't feel like a 'Captain', she felt more like a shipmate," he muttered, adjusting his collar as he did. "Now that there's everyone else, and she's started to take more of a command role, she feels more like a, well a..."

"A Captain?" offered Talia teasingly, as she reached over and knocked on the door.

"Yeah, that..."

"Come in!" called Jenny, both entering immediately to find her sitting behind her desk writing something down with Nicole perched on her shoulder.

"You wanted us?" inquired Trevor formally.

"Easy, you two, you're not in trouble." Jenny chuckled to herself, looking up at them as she folded the parchment and held it out towards them. "Here's your assignment. We need a translator, one who can tell us all the innuendoes of the different ways you can phrase something in other languages. Yes, I know Ma Tegan is fluent in the southern dialects of the Yajin Islands, and that all of know Common well enough to get by in a trade deal, but we've let some others slip through our fingers by not having every resource available to us. This is the contract we're offering to any takers." The tiny nymph coughed lightly, nudging Jenny in the neck. "Oh, and you're taking Nicole with you."

"Why?" Talia looked confused, and clarified, "Taking Nicole, I mean, not the translator part. I understand completely there."

"She's going to be looking for something while you're doing that," replied Jenny enigmatically, though she recalled the discussion the pair had held earlier.

'_How do you know another from our world won't be there, waiting for a job like this?'_

'_The odds of it are so unlikely, though...'_

'_As unlikely as the Queen of Thieves meeting with her old friends in her own hideout? Multiple times over, I might add.'_

'_Ok...you have a point there...you can go, and keep your eyes open at all times!'_

'_Yes, ma'am!'_

Talia and Trevor exchanged glances, dubious but obedient just the same. "Yes, ma'am."

"So why exactly are you coming with us?" pried Trevor once they were off the ship, letting Nicole ride on his shoulder hidden in the folds of his cloak.

"Can't tell you," she replied flatly. "Captain's orders."

"Yeah, but you could probably bend them this once..." He gave her a puppy dog look out of the corner of his eye.

"That doesn't work from this angle," she informed him callously, though she reveled in being this close to him no matter how much she might deny it later on.

"Mind moving to a position where it would more likely work?"

"Yeah, I would, I'm quite comfortable at the moment."

"Easy, you two," cautioned Talia as they entered the market place. "Can't draw attention to the nymph..."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"I have a name, you know," huffed Nicole, though she clammed up after that and kept her eyes pealed as ordered. Coming to the informant booth of everything (or so the sign claimed) they inquired about local translators who may in looking for a contract for a small fee and were given a short list of names in return. Beginning their search just before lunch, they'd visited each name by dinner and had nothing to show for it other than empty stomachs and, for Talia, a splitting head ache.

"That was a waste of an afternoon," she grumped in Tradertalk as they sat down outside a tavern, Nicole equally disappointed as she'd been unable to spot anyone that looked even vaguely familiar.

"Yeah," agreed Trevor, ordering them a couple of lemonades and propped his feet up on the bench across from them. "Think Captain'll be mad?"

"I dunno, Nicole?"

"No, she'll be annoyed at worst and tell us to get back to our posts," muttered the nymph as she wriggled in her place restlessly. Trevor chuckled unexpectedly, moving as if to scratch his neck though he held her still instead.

"Stay still," he said quietly, giving her a teasing look out of the corner of his eye. "That tickles."

"Does it now..." Nicole grinned wickedly. "Hm..."

"Excuse me, are you from the Windsor Trader ship?"

The pair of full-sized Traders looked up, seeing a young girl in her late teens standing before them dressed in fairly nice travel clothes and sea boots. "Depends," said Talia, immediately wary though she'd noted that the girl was unarmed, or not obviously so. "Who's asking?"

"A loner who's looking for her next job," admitted their visitor a tad bleakly. "Heard you were looking for a translator of sorts."

"Yeah, we are," said Trevor, kicking out the bench across from him slightly. "Have a seat. What's your name?"

"Ami." She licked her lips nervously, as if wondering if this was such a wise idea to herself. "Look, I can speak almost any language you could ask, but I don't have time to do negotiations and stuff, so if we could cut straight to chase here and you could tell me if you're still looking for one or not, I'd really appreciate it."

"We are," said Trevor quickly. "What are your terms?"

"I assume I'd have to go with you?"

"Yeah," said Talia, rolling her eyes as she did. "Kinda obvious there, hun."

"Oh, yeah...well, I just want the same pay as the rest of the crew. A place to sleep, food to eat, and enough pay to cover my basic needs and I'm set."

"Sounds too easy to me," admitted Talia suddenly. "You on the run or something, kid?"

"No," answered Ami in a growl. "And I'm not a kid, either."

Nicole, who hadn't said a word the whole time, suddenly grinned in her hiding place. Tugging on Trevor's collar, she waited until he glanced down at her and whispered so only he could hear. "Hire her. Now."

"..." He gave her a puzzled look, but after paused for a moment obeyed. "Here's the contract," he said simply, laying it on the table before her with a charcoal stick. "Take it or leave it, on your specified terms."

Talia, who looked like she wanted to protest, silenced herself when she saw Nicole pop up long enough to give her a glare. The nymph, who was the Captain's right hand gal, had spoken and they didn't much want to tick her off.

"I'll take it!" The young woman signed her name before standing quickly. "Let me get my bags, and I'll be at your ship before the next bell."

"We'd best head back too, then," said Talia a tad bit regretfully as she drank what she could of her ale and left the rest on the table. "Would be bad form for her to beat us back."

"Yep," agreed Trevor, though he seemed a little unsure of himself. "Nicole...are you sure she was the right one?"

The nymph giggled to herself, nodding in the folds of his cloak. "Positive."

Kristen woke later, unable to tell how long she'd been out or even exactly where she was as she was seated in a rather comfortable chair facing a roaring fire. The only problem was she was currently tied firmly in place, both wrists secured to a arm and each leg to a leg of the chair. Another rope had been wrapped several times about her stomach which was likely tied in the back, and she hadn't the flexibility to even think about escape. The forms she would have to fold herself into were just too painful to even consider.

The door opened as she was able to shake the last vestiges of drowsiness from her mind, a well-dressed man coming in with a worried expression on his face.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" he practically cried, quickly untying her middle and legs first, leaving her arms for last as if to make sure she wouldn't attack him. "Quickly now, I've only been able to secure a safe passage for both of us for a little while..."

"What are you talking about?!" she demanded the moment she was free, breaking away from his hold on her arm and backing away quickly. "Where am I and how are you?"

"A friend, I swear, and you are being held captive at one of strongholds of those who would do you harm," he stated quickly, looking at her as if he honestly thought she would believe his every word. "Now, listen close. After your capture, I alone who saw you being abducted followed you here and negotiated with the Master of this mansion. He promised to allow you your freedom, in exchange for only one, simple detail of your life!"

"Don't tell me he wants to marry me," deadpanned the American sarcastically. "That would be way over done..."

"No, not even that," said the man. "Though you are beautiful indeed, and would likely make a wonderful wife as well as bare him many children...." He tapered off as she gave him a cold glare. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Erm....No, he wishes only that you leave your school of combat and swear to never teach another..."

"No."

The man paused, as if unsure he'd heard her correctly. "Miss...?"

"Get out," hissed Kristen as she grabbed the first things her hand could find, a pole that was used to open and close the curtains in that room, and held it in front of her defensively. "You're no friend, and I won't be tricked like that!"

The man attempted to appear distressed, though his irritation showed in his voice and clenched fists. "Miss, please, you must listen."

"I said OUT!" Kristen swung at him swiftly, though her movements were impeded by the bulk of her dress.

"Fine." His worry turned to anger, opening the door as he turned to stalk out of it. "But let no man say that any sealed your fate other than yourself!"

The door was locked the moment he was gone, Kristen going to the single window and finding herself almost four stories above the ground facing a back wall with the sill nailed in place. Growling in anger as she sat herself in the chair once more, she tried to figure out a way of escape with what little she knew about her surroundings and plan a revenge for her captors at the same time. There had to be a way.

Brenna woke late that morning, stumbling out of bed to find Kaitlin toasting bread over the fire and Rupal and Libby sewing up the other blankets they'd dug up in the attic into usable coats and warps.

"Morning," said Kaitlin, her own slice of toast sticking halfway out of her mouth as she ate it without her hands.

"Hey," she sighed, glancing around as she scooted closer to the fire.

"Sleep well?" asked Rupal as she sucked on a bleeding finger where she'd pricked herself again.

"Yeah, well enough." She looked around, counting the group again as if in confusion.

"Toast is done!"

"Where's Cheeks?" she asked around a yawn as she sat among them, accepting her slice of bread with a grumble of thanks.

"Out," said Rupal simply.

"Out where?"

"Out getting us more food," said a voice from the front, all four turning to see him walking in with a dead chicken in one hand and a sack of flour in the other.

"Where'd you get that?!" demanded the plant mage angrily. "Don't tell me you were able to steal that when I got caught..."

"No, I worked for it," he said quickly, holding up his hands as if in self defense. "Those old folks down the road can't keep their firewood stocked. Every time I go and rebuild their stack outside their door, we get a chicken and flour or meal. It's not much, but it'll help, right?"

The tired lone male found himself surrounded in a huge group hug, Kaitlin almost crying at the thought of eating fresh MEAT again when they'd been living on bread and veggies for so long with the occasional stringy rabbit (and Libby refused to eat that most of the time).

"Thank you so much!!!"

"Such a good Cheekums..."

"Erm..." Cheeks blushed as they huggled him tighter, feeling a little claustrophobic among other things. "You're welcome."

Ben snuck out early the next day for playtime, tramping through the fresh snow to a small clearing just inside the grounds that he'd found the other day while exploring with the Master's son. Hopefully, if he was lucky, the cook wouldn't notice his absence until it was too late to call him back without possibly upsetting Artor or the Master. Both of which were to be avoided at all costs.

Quickly piling up the snow banked there, he smoothed it to be round like a pillar with a base that was wider than its top. Getting it as even as he could, the servant boy spend several moments rubbing his hands up and down the sides until he was sure it was as close to perfect as it was gonna get. Starting with a snowball, he then formed himself a globe of snow by rolling it around on the ground and letting it grow until it was a big as his head before setting it on top with the greatest of care before he began to carve shallow pictures in it. On one side it showed a squirrel and a flag, the other a butterfly and two figures standing hand in hand. At the very top he added a smaller ball, tracing around it and other parts in swirl patterns with the tips of his fingers.

"What are you doing, Ben?"

Turning around, the servant spotted his master's son and waved slightly. "Just making something," he called back.

"Well, even I can see that. What is it, though?"

Ben turned back to his creation, swallowing through the lump that had formed in his throat. "Just...a statue."

"Of what, though? I've never seen anything like it."

_Of my sister and her friend, in memory of their deaths by your father..._ Ben shook his head slightly instead of speaking the words of his heart, though, and turned away from it with a sigh. "Oh, I dunno. What did you want to do today, though, Artor? It's a little cold to be out, you know."

"You're right there, don't know how you stand it in just that thin jacket of yours." The young man burrowed himself deeper into his thick fur scarf and wrap. "Come on. Cook'll make us some honeyed tea, and I want to try out the new game father bought me."

"Alright."

Ben cast one last look over his shoulder at the single monument he was able to put up in their death's, and one that wouldn't last more than past the next warm day or heavy snow. It wasn't much, but it was the best he could do and he knew his sister would understand were she still around to tell himself. Putting his back to it, he left it standing there in the clearing, heading for the house with Artor in the lead. He did envy his sister in one light, however, for even if she was dead, at least she was free.

"Are you sure we have time for this?" muttered Landon as he ducked under yet another branch, seriously considering getting down and walking as long as the general branch population seemed to be.

"We're making time," replied Alyse, shooting him a warning look. "Come on, she hasn't been home in ages. The least we can do is let her visit for a day."

Landon shrugged, still moody with his sore back and headache from the high, mountain air. "That doesn't mean we had to come too...OW!"

Alyse retucked the fan back in her belt, smirking in satisfaction as he rubbed a nice lump on top of his head. "We were invited, we said we'd come. End of story."

"No, YOU said we'd come," he corrected under his breath. "I was never given a choice..." Alyse reached for his fan again, stopping when he clamped his mouth shut sullenly.

"Good," she said quite simply as the trail opened up, Revlis appearing ahead of them again with an ecstatic look on her face.

"Come on!" she called, her horse prancing underneath her excitedly. "It's just up ahead!"

"We're coming!" Alyse called back, urging her own mount to pick up the pace a bit as Landon followed obediently at the tail end. Coming out of the woods entirely, a giant valley between two mountains spread before them, a verdant paradise with a river that came cascading down the south walls and ended in a lake pooled beneath it.

"Hurry up, pokey paws!" called Revlis, now halfway down the winding trail below them at a trot. "You'll miss the feast!"

"Feast?" asked Landon, perking up immediately as his stomach growled. "Well...maybe it won't be so bad here."

Alyse laughed, following as he took off at an easy trot. "Yeah, maybe."

Revlis didn't stop her pace until she'd reached the edge of a couple of huts clustered at the waterside, leaping off her mare and turning panther before she hit the ground as a huge wolf came bounding from the trees towards her. The pair behind her immediately reached for their weapons, suspecting the worst when the two started to wrestle playfully, Revlis on top when they turned human again to reveal a young man with black hair and gray eyes just a few years younger than her.

"Not quite there yet," she told him as she put him into a headlock teasingly, rubbing his head with her fist. "Gonna have to grow a lil'more first."

"Arhhh, gerroffa me!!" He turned wolf again, nipping at her teasingly as she just ruffled the fur behind his ears, earning herself a lick from her neck to her hairline.

"Eww...doggy slobber..."

"Cute pup," said Alyse as she dismounted close to where they were, looking the wolf straight back in the eye as it swung around to stare at her in surprise. "I take it animal mages run in the family?"

"Grandpa's a wolf, mum a bird-types one and dad one of the few who can do just about anything...so yeah." She grinned, her brother dropping back into human form as they rose to their feet. "Just a little bit. This is my lil bro, Ravtis. Ravi, this is Alyse and Landon, my partners."

"Nice to meet you," he said politely, ducking his head as two others emerged from the huts. A man and a woman, both with the same black hair as their children had and the same ever-changing eyes that animal mages seemed to posses, they sized up the visiting mages as they did the same to them in amusement.

"Mum, dad!" called Revlis, a huge smile on her face as they folded her between them. "Been a long time since I've been home, hasn't it?"

"Only three years," laughed her father, scratching the back of his head as he did. "Not nearly as long as your brother's been gone. We haven't seen him in nearly a decade!"

"Which one? Roz?"

"No, he was back just a few months ago. I meant Rivin."

"Oh..."

"Use R's much?" murmured Landon to Alyse, rolling his eyes as he did. "Good grief..."

"Come," said Revlis as she turned and looped her arms through Alyse and Landon's, dragging them along beside her under the trees where a bonfire and the rest of the homes lay. An odd assortment of humans and animals awaited them there, some tending the pots at other, smaller fires that ringed the larger one and others playing games or wrestling playfully here or there. "Time for you to meet the whole family! Excited?"

Landon's eyes widened as he watched a little girl change forms as she swung through the trees, from human to chimp, in the blink of an eye. Shaking his head, he sighed. "This place is two strange..."

The pantherwoman just laughed, ignoring their protests as they were thrown among the others there and accepted as warmly as she. Needless to say, it was an experience neither would ever forget.

Olivia, Randy, and Bryanna stood outside Lightsbridge, much as they had their first day staring up at the huge set of buildings with its many rooms and corridors. They'd only seen the main hall and teacher offices their first time here, though, and as a holster came for their mounts with a servant to guide them to their destination they were soon lost in the winding hallways of the school. Coming to a similar room as the one the Headmaster had addressed them in, they stood in front of an elder woman who wore a black robe and was likely a mage teacher of sorts within the school.

"You three," she said simply, looking up at them with sharp brown eyes that seemed to see right through them. "Have been the center of quite a bit of talk around here. I assume, as I was informed, that it is all baseless and false?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Bryanna immediately, doing her best to appear sincere. "We were tricked, and led astray without realizing it."

"Well, at least having seen the trap once you will hopefully not fall in it again," she sniffed, shuffling through some papers as she did. "You did not complete your journey as required, though you had nearly reached the end of it. You have a choice, do you wish to resume your journey as Journeymen and return upon acquiring your final seals, or complete your studies here with some Masters who are currently less busy than usual and glad to take on some extra students?"

"Stay here," said Olivia and Randy as one, still saddle sore and more than ready to be rid of traveling by horse forever.

"What about you, healer?" asked the mage, turning towards Bryanna. "Will you stay?"

"I go where they go, it makes no difference to me," she stated honestly.

"Very well. Classes begin this afternoon. This is your schedule, your room keys, and a map of the grounds. Meal times begin at 5th, 12th, and 6th bell respectively. It would be wise of you not to be late. Now go."

The trio leveled out the stack of papers shoved at them between the three of them, quickly leaving as they'd come to find a servant waiting to show them to their new quarters. Things were really starting to look up.

Jenny stood leaning over the railing up beside the stern of the ship, staring at their newest crew addition who stood among others down below on the deck. "I know her from somewhere," she mused aloud to herself, resting her head on her hands as she narrowed her eyes slightly. "Where have I seen her before...?"

"You're memory must be really going if you can't remember Ami-chan, or at least her other-world self," replied Nicole with a giggle, coming to land on Jenny's shoulder gently.

"You mean Amy Carrol? The clarinet player?" Jenny leaned back, looking at the said young woman again in surprise. "You're right...it is her, isn't it? I can't believe I didn't realize it myself..."

"I checked her background with Trev like you asked, she's telling the truth. Or at least as far as having come in on the southern-bound ship from Yajin it is. Can't really confirm if her parents are dead or not and all, but we did enough poking around to figure out she's been around for years, a lot of the tavern owners around here know her well enough at least. She's not from our world, but we know her other self in ours." Nicole twiddled a breeze between her fingers lightly. "That, and she's a lot like her other self. Same happy face all the time, being a spaz and making people laugh....she can speak just about any lingo there is, though. Couple of the others tested her, she blew them out of the water with what she knows. Seems like she's been everywhere and back a half a dozen times over."

"You're sure she didn't make it all up?" asked Jenny cautiously, a hopeful glint in her eyes. "It's been a really long time since we came, I don't remember how long it took us to start to run into each other in Tortall but it didn't seem to take this long..."

"If she is, it's not because she's trying to hide the fact she's from another world," replied Nicole quietly. "Gwen went and talked to her, dropped some hints that the REAL Ami we know would've burst out laughing over, like being a gimpy newbie and all that. No, this is the otherworld's version of her."

"That's really strange, you know," muttered their Captain, turning away as she faced the setting sun just on the other side of the town where they were still harbored over the winter. "I half expect her to come up and ask if we've seen any of the others any second, but I know she won't..."

"Oh, the paradoxes of inter-dimensional travel," sighed the nymph teasingly. "Come on, Ma Tegan's got some cookies baking, and I got first dibs on the oatmeal rasin ones. Wanna come?"

Jenny nodded, the whole thing was going to give her a migraine if she dwelt on it too much longer. "Sure, let's go."

Kristen was tired, and more than a little hungry, by the time she heard someone moving outside her door several hours later towards what she assuming to be morning. She'd dozed occasionally in the large chair, which she'd dragged farther from the door and into what she figured was a more defensible position should she be attacked. But the bed remained untouched should her captors come in to find her sleeping and unarmed. The same pole she'd used earlier now sat beside her patiently, awaiting its next use in her (hopeful) plan to escape. The room itself held nothing but the bed, chair, fireplace, and a table with some rugs covering the stone floor, and she often outwardly growled as she inwardly cursed the dress she was currently wearing time and time again. Its cumbersome skirts and tight bodice were not going to make her job any easier at this point.

Still, she stood quickly as the bolt was thrown with the pole in hand, frowning in puzzlement when no one came in and she was shown an empty hallway. About to bolt for it, she checked her urge to run as a cart pushed by a burly guard came into view.

"Ya dun look so tough t'me," he muttered as he eyed her over curiously, shrugging as he came the rest of the way in the door and closed it partially behind himself.

"Looks can be deceiving," she growled, still clenching the staff though she paused warily, unsure of what to do now.

"Sir says ya t'be feed," he said as he put his back to her, unloading a couple of plates onto the table. "Dunno why ya so important t'him. Ya look more liken a kitten t'me, than a tigress..." Wondering if it was some sort of trap, or if he was truly that stupid to put his back to a trained fighter who was a prisoner, she decided it was better to have tried and failed than not and never know it all and struck.

The guard went down like a sack of potatoes with a huge lump on the back of his head and a couple of bruises on either shoulder. Figuring her rain of blows aught to be enough to keep him quiet for a little while; she divested him of his long dagger and peeked outside in the hallway. Finding no one there she was about to dart down the shadowed hallway when the tantalizing smell of freshly baked food reached her nose.

Kristen's stomach growled in response, adding to her misery as it complained all the louder with the presence of sustenance so near by. Stepping around the knocked-out brute of a guard and inching towards the plates, she poked at the food in uncertainty as she wondered if it was safe to eat or not. She had been kidnapped, and as far as she knew they had no real reason to keep her around other than trying to get rid of her business, what if it was poisoned or something like that?

Picking up a roll, she sniffed it before breaking it open and nibbling at the crust hesitantly. It tasted alright to her, though she pointedly turned her back on the wine and water that had been brought. She'd read too much about drinks being tampered with for her to even consider touching them. The meat in general looked questionable with a light tan gravy covering it, and the vegetable was of a type she'd never seen before and wasn't sure it was safe to eat period. Stuffing the whole roll in her mouth and grabbing two more in her free hand, she turned and went on down the hallway cautiously.

A few yards brought her to tee in the hallway, one direction leading her towards more lights and the sound of pots and pans being knocked about. The other was still, dark and quiet, nearly pitch black in the places between lamps. Taking the latter, as she wasn't exactly completely sure she could fend off more than one person at a time in her present condition (exhausted and still in that forsaken DRESS), she cautiously and silently walked with what felt like a slight slope heading downwards until it opened into what appeared to be a giant cavern dimly lit with a single oil lamp beside the doorway.

Finding it to be completely empty, she wandered around the huge pools and vats of colored liquids there until she realized she'd found the laundry and dye rooms of the mansion. It only took a moment to locate the clean clothes for the servants and guards that were stacked in shelves near the entry way, and within seconds of that she'd secured a pair of pants and a loose shirt she figured might fit fairly well. Hiding in the back corners and praying no one would walk in on her, she left the dress stuffed in a chest and belted the pants so they'd stay on with strips torn from a sheet which also served to tied down the cuffs and hems of her overlarge clothes as well as bind her hair back from her face.

Armed with her single pole and dagger, the escapee young woman began the next part of her mission: finding her way out without getting caught.

Brenna answered the door warily when there came a loud knock one afternoon, her stomach growling hungrily as she waved the others back incase it was another attack like last time and finding, two her surprise, two young people not much older than herself standing there looking at her expectantly.

Brushing a couple of brunette curls from her face and glancing from one to the next as they shared a look and nod with each other, she backed up a step with one hand ready to slam the door shut should it be necessary.

"She's the one," confirmed the girl, giving Brenna a warm smile as she clapped her hands lightly. She was just a couple of inches shorter than the weary farmer, thin and lithe with pale skin and dark brown hair tied back from her face a couple of small braids though most of it hung free in the back.

"The one what?" asked Brenna, even more weirded out now than before. "Um...who are you two?"

"You are the one we've, I mean she, has been looking for," explained the young man slowly, as though as unsure of their presence there was Brenna was. He was thin like his companion, but much more wiry than lithe with sinew and muscle showing in his bared arms. Pale and dark haired as well, his own fine mane was short and close-cut, sticking up from his scalp slightly. "My name is Carlton, and this is my sister Carrie."

"...I am still so confused." Brenna blinked slightly, though some back corner of her mind noted this 'Carlton' was kinda cute being as serious as he was she still had no idea what was going on."

"You," said Carrie, reaching to put a hand on Brenna's shoulder. "Are a mage. As well as..." She winced slightly the moment she put a hand on the confused young woman's cheek, letting the contact break slightly after a couple of seconds. "Slightly tainted with unmagic..."

"Unmagic?" The little color left in the ex-thief's face drained quicker than a pint of lemonade on a sunny day, leaving her white as a she and more than a little woozy. "Is that why....all of this is because of unmagic?! Everything? The farm, the animals, even us...that's why? But where did the taint come from? We've had no dealings with mages since we moved here-"

"Enough," cut in Carrie, her brother strangely silent as he turned and stared out at the dead fields with an almost pained look on his face. "Come, we have much to talk about, and a lot of work to get this place back to the healthy farm it once was." She gave the still shell-shocked young woman a reassuring smile. "Can we come in?"

"Brenna, who is it?" asked Kaitlin uncertainly from the back room, peeking around the corner with a worried look on her face.

Hesitating, the ex-thief suddenly realized the pair could be trusted, and it had likely been arranged by that midget mage for these two to finally come to their rescue. "Some...some friends." She grinned weakly, moving aside so the pair could come into their house. "Excuse the mess, if you will, we haven't exactly been feeling ourselves as of late..."

"It'll be alright now," promised the young girl, smiling at Kaitlin who edged out from behind the wall with a curious Rupal on her heals. "We've got some food with us if you guys are hungry."

"Are we ever!" cried Kaitlin, immediately liking this new girl as she pounced on the back of supplies produced. "Oh, fresh bread and cheese!"

Brenna watched as the pair (or Carrie at least, her brother seemed to hang back slightly) quickly incorporated themselves into the fabric of their lives within minutes. The girl had all but promised things would be changed now somehow, she just hoped she was right.

Briteyes sat in another small corner at a market much like the one in Summersea, though smaller and with less variety in its produce and goods. The pickings here would not be wonderful, and it was likely she and Silven would not earn enough for their efforts, but they would manage none the less and move in the morning.

Taking a break from their usual performance, the player merely plucked through the many songs of her repertoire with great ease. Silven, armed with a twig she'd whittled into a spear, guarded the hat set in front of them and the few coins they'd collected in it. It was a little chilly in the late morning sun, with most folks bundled in their heavy coats and jackets and scarves wound around their necks, but it wasn't unbearable just yet. They'd either have to head south again soon, or find some permanent residence for the coldest of the winter months, but Briteyes was still unsure of which it would be. Her 'itch', as she'd come to call it in her mind, was calling her to the north for some reason. It was almost like the poor signal she would sometimes get on her dad's laptop using his wireless internet, if the signal wasn't strong the ability to get online would short in and out on random for seemingly no reason at all. Some days, she just knew exactly where she was going and which way to go to get where it was her heart needed her to be. Other days...well, it was like she was lucky to find her way around town.

Shaking such gloomy thoughts from her mind, the performer instead studied the people around her. Though they were all different, she had realized long ago that no matter where you went, the make up of a town was generally all the same. A couple of the 'upper class' passed her, not as pompously decked out in their furs and jewelry as they might have been in a larger city such as Summersea, but certainly more finely dressed than some of their neighbors. There were always a few of those, though their status in the town variety slightly with their personality. Sometimes they were the arrogant slave drivers that sucked whatever wealth they could out of the people, others the kindly benefactors that everyone loved and went to in their times of need. The ones here seemed to be somewhere in the middle, and at since they hadn't tried to tax her yet for playing in the market place and even added a silver to her small pile of coins, she was satisfied with them for the moment.

A farmer and his cart suddenly rolled by from the opposite direction, but that wasn't unusual in the least. She had found farmers of every shape and size in her journeys, selling every sort of vegetable, fruit, and animal imaginable. It truly didn't matter where one went, there would always be some sort of farming community present to help keep the population fed. They may not contribute much to her business, that was true, but she could usually cajole one or two to trade her a loaf of bread or a couple of apples for a song. They were a likable group, for the most part, and worthy of respect as well.

The usual gaggle of beggars, however, did not like her at all. The coins that might usually go in their bowls or hands went into her pouch when those in the town realized they might as well pay someone who's at least giving them some sort of service rather than a freeloader with no productive qualities at all. Sure, if her takings were good, she'd throw a coin or two in their direction at the end of the day. But she couldn't afford to beggar herself when she and Silven were walking a tight line as it was between meals. Sometimes they went hungry as well, when ends didn't quite meet, she just wished those people who they 'took business from' on accident wouldn't be so hostile all the time.

A kindly woman bustled up from her shop, laying a still-warm sausage biscuit before them with a smile to which Briteyes quickly responded with one of her own. Shop keepers and vendors, now those were nice, respectable folks for the most part. Especially those who dealt in the line of baked goods or drinks, having a musician around more than likely helped their business and thus welcomed their presence without question. An offering like this wasn't unusual, and the squirrel and her friend split it as their noon meal as the day wore on. Sometimes, when she was going to stay in one place for awhile, the performer was even able to secure a full meal for herself through one of the vendors who profited from her presence.

Briteyes attention was then drawn to a new couple entering the market, a pair of Traders likely from the caravan outside the town who had arrived just the night before. She didn't much mind the dark-skinned merchants, though they didn't do much for her line of work, they didn't hinder it either and once or twice her presence been requested to come and play for the Head of the caravan or ship that was nearby at that point in time. But to most of them she just was just a simple _kaq_, and she didn't expect that change anytime soon.

Yeah, towns were pretty much the same wherever you went. Gathering the hat and coins suddenly, she ignored the query the confused Silven sent her way and packed up her things, letting her furry friend ride on her shoulder as they left the market square.

{Why are we leaving?} Silven asked when they were finally on the outskirts of town.

"It just felt like it was time..." Briteyes pulled out a map, consulting it quickly before stuffing it back in her bag. "We'll make it to the next place by nightfall. How does a hot meal and a real bed sound?"

{Great! But...can we afford it}

Briteyes shrugged, a light grin on her face as she strolled on. "Oh, we'll manage it somehow."

It seemed like it was only a few days time before Randy, Olivia and Bryanna were called before the same old woman who had spoken to them the day they had arrived back at Lightsbridge. Apprehensive as to what this latest summoning might mean, they waited nervously outside her office door until they were finally called in.

Finding themselves not alone in the room, with a whole panel of mages facing them again, the trio froze and wondered if it would be wise to bolt until one of the seated mages and began to speak.

"Today, we are gathered for a matter of great importance," he said gruffly, his voice resounding off the walls slightly. "A matter of Masterhood for two of the young Journeymen standing before you. If Olivia and Bryanna would step forwards...?"

Both young women did so, Randy finding himself back up against the wall watching in amazement.

"As a Master of Lights bridge, you would still be under our ruling and must follow our laws," went on the man as he stepped around the table, a silver medallion in either hand. "Such as to always help your fellow mages. To work for the good of mankind and the teaching of magic over your own personal gain. To find those you find with the gift a teacher, and if a suitable one cannot be found to take on the job yourself. Could you do this?"

"I could," replied the pair as one as if under a spell of sorts.

"Would you obey the call of the Mages Council if they summoned you? Obey the laws they have set before you such as these mentioned and more?"

"I would."

"Will you stand proud to be a Master mage of Lights bridge? An example for other schools and students to see and follow even when times are dark?"

"I will."

"Then I present you with these." Each medallion bore the name of the one it was presented to on one side with the symbol of their power on the other. "Welcome, Master Olivia and Master Bryanna to the ranks of Master Mages of Lightbridge University."

The entire council stood, everyone shaking the dazed pairs hands before filing out once more and leaving the trio alone in the room.

"Hey..." said Randy, feeling a little left out as his two companions studied their new medallions. "What about me?"

"Not our fault you can't become a Master," muttered Olivia as she glanced up with a superior look on her face. "MUAHAHAHA!! Puny Journeyman."

Randy sighed as he followed them back out into the hallway, a crestfallen look on his face. "That's not fair!"

"Life is never fair," Bryanna reminded him lightly, tucking her medallion under her shirt.

"Yeah, yeah..."

Revlis chattered on and on as they road Westwards at an easy pace about their trip to her homeland, Alyse and Landon not really paying attention as one was nearly asleep in the saddle and the other was practicing her meditation to pass the time more quickly.

Coming around a bend, the cat girl spotted a stream with some shade by it just as her stomach growled. "Um...would you guys mind if we stopped for some lunch?"

Landon jerked his head up, blinking rapidly. "Huh? Say what? What hunch?"

"Sure," replied Alyse, exchanging an amused look with her fellow female as they guided their horses under the stream. "I'm a little hungry myself."

He blinked, then grinned. "Oh, lunch! Ok. That sounds good to me."

"If it involves food it always sounds good to you," replied Revlis teasingly as she dismounted, tethering her horse to a tree and immediately taking one of the pots down to stream and filling it to the brim for the poor beasts to drink from. "What's on the menu for today?"

"Same as breakfast, bread and cheese and some apples," replied Alyse as she dug around in her saddlebag. "We're going to need to stop at another town and get some more supplies in a few days."

"No meat?" The cat-like woman pouted before plopping herself down gracefully beside the horses. "Aw, even some tough jerky would be nice right about now."

"Nope, we're fresh out after last nights stew," explained Landon as he began to unsaddle the horses and give them a good rubdown. "We could stop early tonight, get a little hunting in maybe before we turn it."

"Or sleep in a real bed with fresh meat stew already made in the next town we find," offered Revlis hopefully.

"Yeah, that would be nice," added Landon as they both looked to Alyse.

She shrugged with a grin. "We'll see. If the weather looks bad, yes, I don't want to spend another night out in the rain."

"Ok..."

Both off worlders froze suddenly as if struck by something, Revlis immediately sitting up as she felt an almost evil presence in her gut that made it impossible for her to speak, or even move.

"What was that?!" she demanded when it finally passed as Alyse slumped to her knees, holding her head as Landon stood looking like he wanted to hurl.

"Unmagic..." gasped their Sensor, forcing herself to her feet as she stumbled towards her mount. "A huge deposit, absolutely enormous...can't believe we missed it...!!"

"It's like a sleeping giant," muttered Landon as he leaned over for a moment before he straightened up and followed her to the horses. "That someone just poked and it began to stir. If that pool wakes up completely...!"

"I'll grab everything, you get going," offered Revlis as she immediately boosted Alyse bareback onto her horse, doing the same for Landon a moment later. "I'll be there as soon as I can!"

"Hurry, we might need you there!" called Alyse over her shoulder as she took off, looking a little better as she began to race towards their target with the surety of an arrow springing from its bow.

"I will!!" Revlis wasted no time in throwing everything back in the packs, tossing it all over her horse's shoulders before tying it to herself and transforming into her panther form. The poor beast might die of fright, but it'd be faster this way and she could follow them better with her nose than her eyes. Feeling her stomach growl again, she ignored it as she took off with a mighty bound after them. With unmagic sometimes it was mere seconds that made all the difference, and she would not be too late!

Nicole drifted about on the late-afternoon air currently, enjoying the comfort of her winds as she floated over Ami's head and paused to peer over her shoulder curiously. Their newest translator was bent over a pad of paper, sketching away furiously at something the little nymph couldn't see.

"What's that?" she asked as she flew down, landing on her shoulder gently.

"Huh?!" The new girl jumped slightly, still unused to having Nicole appear seemingly out of nowhere. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you..."

"S'ok, you'll get used to it after awhile," laughed the nymph lightly. "Besides it's fun making you jump."

"Gee, thanks..."

"What're you doing, though?" Nicole sat herself down, looking at the drawing as she tried to decipher what it was.

"It's not finished, but it will be a picture of the ship," came the easy reply as the translator picked up her fallen pencil and began to sketch some more. Leaning over for a better view, the miniature woman was surprised to see the ship taking shape under those skillful strokes, even the details of the rounded shape of Jenny's cabin door and the exact proportions of the sails coming into view.

"What do you think?" asked Ami as she held it up after a few moments, adding a few bits of shading around the sun in the background that made it look like dusk.

Nicole grinned, a warm fuzzy feeling appearing in her chest. "It's beautiful."

Everyone in the house was up in the morning, looking around quizzically when Kristen didn't appear.

"She's not in her room!" reported Cam from upstairs, the only one brave enough to venture into those hollowed (and dangerous) grounds.

"She's not in the dojo!" called Jon from the side door as he came back in.

"She's nowhere else in the house," said Mike from where he sat at the table, nursing a black coffee.

"You guys, she's not at that noble's place," called Chris from the front door, coming back with a bushel of flowers and a note apologizing from the Baron for not having seen her off personally the night before and an invite to dinner.

"Then where is she? It's not like her to just take off like this!" complained Matt as he sat at the table, his head in his hands.

"You don't think she turned whore on us, do you?" All eyes turned to Mike with a slightly murderous gleam eyes except Jon, who just chuckled lightly. "What? I was just asking..."

"There's only one thing to do since she obviously found some trouble, to find a rescue her!" said Chris as he pulled out a map and spread it over the table. "Everyone will search an area of the city, keep your ears open, and pick up any news you can! Maybe someone has seen or heard something."

"You guys..." offered Cam hesitantly as they began to argue over who would go where and such. "Um...don't you think of Kristen was taken that she could get out of it on her own?"

"Of course not," snorted Mike. "She's a girl, remember? A damsel in distress. Of course she needs to be rescued if she got into trouble!"

"He's right, now let's get out there and find her!" cried Chris, leading the charge out the doorway with Cam standing there left behind as usual.

"I still don't think she needs rescuing!" he called after them, though he still glanced at the area assigned to him and headed out the door with a sigh. "Oh well..."

And there is Chapter 19 of SSS!! Review, because that WILL make me want to write more and update sooner than last time! Again, to my few last loyal fans, thank you.

CB


	20. 

Well, not many reviews with chapter 19, but that's ok. We're back here with 20, and I know the break last chapter were missing with the 'evil character eating' thing, but I can promise they'll be there this time. Thank you to the few of you who did review, it's for you that this next chapter is written. For your viewing pleasure: Chapter 20.

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Brenna still couldn't believe everything they had told her in the last few hours, she remembered very well all the implications unmagic held from the books but couldn't even begin to imagine where it had come from.

"You're sure none the other home members wield it?" pressed Carlton seriously as he sat across from her at the kitchen table late that night, everyone else already asleep and in bed.

"No, absolutely not," replied his sister firmly. "Of all, she is the only one who bears any sort of magical ability."

"Were there any others who lived here before?" went on her brother. "Friends, relatives, frequent guests...?"

"The twins from just down the way used to come by a lot, but it couldn't have been them," said Brenna tiredly. "They actually got so sick from being here they couldn't visit anymore. Which wouldn't make sense at all if they were the cause to begin with."

"There was an extra hammock hung in your male companion's room," pointed out Carrie, who had administered some remedies to the poor young man earlier to help him sleep. "Who used to sleep there?"

"Hammock? Oh, you mean Jem..." she trailed off sadly, shaking her head as she did. "He was a surprise guest of ours, you could say."

"Where'd he come from?" asked Carlton, immediately interested.

"We never found out. Cheeks and Libby found him out in the woods one day being chases by some creature. They killed it, and we took him in." Seeing the looks the twins traded, she growled. "He wasn't the caused! He was the sweetest little boy you've ever met, you understand me?!"

"Then where is now?"

The question only reminded Brenna of the losses they had had, and she snapped back in return. "Gone. Taken from us in some sort of raid."

"By who?"

"We never found that out either. There was a rainstorm right after we'd managed to gather ourselves together again, and we didn't get far before the tracks were washed away."

The pair were quiet for a moment before Carrie spoke again, this time choosing her words carefully as she did. "I'm not saying it was Jem's fault, but...how was the farm doing before he arrived?"

"Great, which is why we could afford to take him in." The plant mage shrugged, closing her eyes as she did wearily. "The plants were growing, the animals multiplying...it was almost perfect when he came into our lives, like this little doll we could play with all the time."

"He sounds like a great kid," murmured Carrie.

"But we can't ignore the fact that it wasn't until after he arrived that things began to fall apart here," put in Carlton brusquely.

"Carl!" cried his sister indignantly.

"What?" He frowned, crossing his arms as he did. "We can't ignore the facts, Carrie. Based on everything they'd told us and we've seen for ourselves, this boy is the only one who could've been the cause. Ever so conveniently, he's also the one that's no longer here. That's a little suspicious if you ask me."

"Please ignore my brother, he can be a jerk at times," sighed Carrie as Brenna set her jaw in anger.

"He's wrong, that's all I have to say." Rising suddenly, she nodded politely as she did. "Thank you for your help. But I think I'm going to sleep now."

"You could be a little nicer, you know," muttered Carrie as she rose as well, Carlton following her to the room they were to share downstairs.

"Excuse me for telling the truth..."

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Ami yawned as she padded out onto the deck, meeting with Jenny as had been requested down in the hold in the kitchen where their ancient cook was currently baking pies stuffed with eggs, onions, and bacon for their breakfast.

"You called, Captain?" she said as she sat down across from the shorter woman who was nursing a mug of stiff coffee.

"Yes, I wanted to ask what you knew about the next port we were headed to," replied Jenny with a friendly smile. "Any and all knowledge helps."

"I understand." She looked over the map spread between them. "Which port are we visiting?"

"Crokus. Not great security wise, I know, but I think there's little that's getting past our resident nymph."

"Oh, they won't bother you there unless you make a show of having arms just to piss you off," coughed Ami knowingly. "The wine district is quite extensive, just as rumors say, but what they don't tell you is the vendors don't sell the goods in travel-ready packaging. Don't get wine there unless you've got someone ordering it from you already with specifications to get it from here. It's not worth it otherwise."

"Anything else you can tell me?"

"Don't peddle mage-goods there. The mages there are quite territorial, and even with Nicole I don't think you're going to want to make enemies of them." Ami gratefully accepted some coffee and one of the pies from the cook before turning back to the map. "Wood is scarce in that area, though. If you have any precious wood stock, you could make a good profit with any furniture makers or wood carvers you find."

"What are the vendors like?"

"Mostly friendly. Be careful, though, to offend some of those in higher rankings means you'll make the smaller guys beneath them pay dearly and then they won't be so willing to trade with you next time around."

"Alright. You know anything about the Traders in the area?"

"Land Traders don't come through there. Route's too dangerous and not enough profit for their sorts of wares. Sea Traders come and go. There might be some others there selling like us, there might not. It all depends."

"Ok. I think that'll do." Jenny looked over the list beside her nodding every once in awhile as she marked something off. "You wouldn't happen to know how the trade in scented oils there is, would you?"

"Nope. Probably not great, though. There's not many noble ladies in the area, and the priests tend to skimp on the rites and such."

"I see. Been there before?"

"Once or twice. The local dialect is very easily understood, though, so my services will likely no be needed."

"We'll see about that." Jenny grinned. "We'll find a use for you, no fears there. Come on, I want you to tell me more about the 'local dialect." She rose, finished with her meal and headed for the deck.

"Yes, Captain!"

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Kristen crept from one hallway to another, now in a section of the mansion that was relatively abandoned. The alarm for her 'escape' had been raised awhile ago, but as far as she knew they didn't know her whereabouts just yet. Coming to a dead end, she found a window there which opened outwards. Unlatching it, she opened it to reveal a narrow walkway that lead to the roof of the guard's quarters.

Gritting her teeth as the sound of footsteps came echoing down the hallways behind her, the hunted young woman crawled out the walkway and quickly shut the window behind herself. Holding the pole lengthwise to aid in her balance, she broke out into a cold sweat with her back firmly plastered against the wall behind her. If she fell, it would be a good two stories before she hit the ground. Far higher than anything Jon had pushed her into trying before.

Taking a few deep breaths, she attempted her solidify her resolve into one desperate attempt. First step....second step... The air about her moan softly, the moon low in the sky speaking of the next approaching day. Third step...fourth step... Her stomach grumbled and her legs and arms ached. Sleep was something that she was only a barely keeping off, and she knew she was in trouble as she began to sway slightly. Fifth step...sixth step.... No mage there to save her this time if she fell. No harness around her middle. She was a mortal, and most likely she would die. Seventh...eighth...ninth... On and on, her feet moved steadily forwards, never faster or slower than the first step taken what seemed now light years ago. The walk seemed to never end.

Hearing the hooting of an owl, she paused and turned to look up, seeing no one at all who might observe her at the moment. Looking back at the walkway, she felt her stomach drop. It really was a far ways away, so very, very far... Quickly scrambling through the last few yards, she nearly stumbled in her haste and barely regained her balance in time to reach the platform on the other side.

Collapsing to her knees, the young woman rested there before she looked around and quickly located a ladder to the ground. There, she hid behind some bushes as the guards night passed her by, yawning as their replacements tagged off with them for the dawn shift. The wall was not ten feet from where she now sat, but she didn't dare move. Not now. Soon others would awaken, and if she couldn't find shelter before prying eyes found her she would be caught. Electing to stay where she was (and hope against hope that they wouldn't find her asleep) she settled back in the small hallow and folded herself up as small as possible.

When she finally made it out, she would kill whoever had put her through this. Not letting her sleep, no food, crawling through the dirt, walking paths as narrow as boards just to get to the ground without being caught...yes, they were most definitely dead.

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Alyse and Landon plodded along on their sweat-soaked mounts, as weary as the beasts that carried them. After the initial flare, the signal had disappeared, leaving not even a trace of where it had once been. The 'sleeping giant' had gone firmly back to sleep for the moment. And now after riding for hours in the direction they 'thought' they were to go, they were too tired to go on any further.

"It was so clear, and then it was gone," muttered Alyse, shaking her head. "I don't understand..."

"Please, can we stop?" panted Landon, almost asleep in the saddle and his horse stumbling every few steps in exhaustion.

"We have to, or we'll founder the horses," replied Alyse in a low voice, spent from hours of scanning that brought up nothing at all. Not in the area the flare had been originally. "Come on, there's a town just ahead."

"Thank you lord!"

Stopping at the first Inn that looked at least semi-descent, they let the horses with the stable boy with strict orders to be rubbed down and well-fed with a few coppers to enforce it. Even passing up the prospect of a hot meal, they merely got themselves a room and climbed the stairs to the one the landlord had pointed them to.

"If you're sure you won't eat," he had said kindly. "At least a bath, then...?"

"When we wake," Alyse assured him with a smile.

"Most definitely then," added Landon with a yawn. "Just...let us sleep. We'll come down when we're rested again."

"As you wish, sir."

"This was not what I expected when I came to America," sighed Landon as he plopped himself on the first bed available, kicking off his boots and sitting up to remove his leather vest before lying down again. "Not what I expected at all...drugs I could deal with...and...and work, no problem...mm....but magic...and monsters...I...zzz...zzz..."

Alyse looked back at him, unable to do anything but smile with him fast asleep, spread eagle on his back on the bed. Taking a blanket, she threw it over him and tucked him in gently before changing behind the screen and crawling into the bed on the other side of the room.

He was right, that this was all unexpected. Even with the war last time, things hadn't seemed this eventful. Remembering the battles and enjoyments from the Tortallian world, she drifted off to sleep dreaming of a past she could only remember in the far corners of her mind.

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"It's gone."

What's that?

"The feeling. It's gone again."

The odd pair of performers stood at an intersection of five roads, Briteyes standing in the center as frustrated as ever.

"I had it yesterday," she went on, turning around again and again only to be met with the same feeling of uncertainty. "Yesterday, it was so clear. That's why we kept going, I just knew where it was I had to go...and now it's gone."

We should've stopped yesterday, then put in Silven grouchily. That rich guy was gonna house of for the night if we played for dinner. Even the scraps from his table...can you imagine?! Real roast beef for once, and fresh soft bread with hot butter and lots of sugared puffs...

"I know, I just thought..." she trailed off miserably, unable to complete the sentence anymore than she was able to complete the longings in her heart. "Never mind. I'm just being stupid again, I guess." She turned randomly and began to head down the road to her left, with no clue at the moment where it might lead.

Where are we going, then?

"I don't know. Not sure I much care, either."

The squirrel frowned. It wasn't like her friend to be so melancholy even after losing track of where they were going again. What's wrong?

"What's wrong? With me? Wish I know. Wish I could remember what happened."

... Biting her tongue, Silven just huddled down around her next comfortingly. She couldn't tell her the truth. Not that it was Ben who'd died. How he'd died. How she'd gotten her scars and why sometimes the yearning would come for her to go north and get her revenge. Afterwards she could never remember what direction they'd been traveling in, which was a blessing at least, but Silven feared the day the block would be absolved completely and Briteyes would regain all that she had once lost in her mind. To do so...it was almost necessary before they returned, that she relearn the truth. How else would they explain Ben's absence upon their return? Still, it would not be a pretty sight.

After walking on a ways they came to a road sign, posting the miles to several large cities.

Summersea! exclaimed Silven, surprised at how close they were.

"You want to go back there again? It's been awhile since we visited Rosethorn and Lark and the little foursome there."

Could we please?

Briteyes couldn't help but laugh at the wistful tone in her companion's 'voice', nodding as she noted which turn she'd have to take at the intersection up ahead. "Yeah, alright. I could do with some good cooking myself. Been losing weight again."

You're always doing that because you never eat!

"Can't eat what I don't have."

You'd have it if you stopped every time you got offered a job and occasionally stayed in one stop for more than, say, a day?

"But I don't want to do that."

Believe me, I know.

Silven's wry tone just made her companion laugh all the more, a far happier sound than had come from her companion's lips in days. "I'm sure you do," she said after awhile, a smile on her face. "Come on, I'll bet you a candied nut Rosethorn scolds me for being gone so long again."

That's a given. She always scolds you.

"Not necessarily...she didn't scold me the first time we came."

Well, let's see here, maybe because she'd never met you before, hm?

Briteyes just laughed again. "You're going to have to watch yourself while we're there. While my waistline shrinks while we travel, yours grows every time we stop!"

There is nothing wrong with being pleasantly plump

"Uh huh, sure..."

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"What is this one for?"

Carrie took the ward from Brenna's hands, once again shying away from any physical contact without meaning to. "This is a magical ward," she explained quickly as she pinned it down at the corner of one field, muttering a few words over it before it began to glow faintly. "It will shield all of this unmagic from any Dark mages that happen to be in the area."

"Don't forget to let the second phase go!" called Carlton from his place across the field, mincing his way among the tangled plants with a grace that had the farmer woman jealous. "Everything else is set at this end!"

"We're going to need more of the cedar stakes," muttered Carrie to herself as she did something else to the tagged-down disc of a dark, shiny wood. "It's worse than I even imagined..."

"You can fix all of this, right?" prodded Brenna as she followed the twin mage around the field suspiciously. "This isn't some sort of ward to destroy the whole place, is it?"

"No, but this isn't the ward to cleanse it either," admitted Carrie as she went around, setting another one down carefully.

"Then what's the point of all this?!"

"Keeping it from enemy eyes, like I said," came the low reply. "I don't think you understand just how much of the taint this land currently bears. Should a Dark mage reach it and use it...there is no mage presently alive in the council who would have the power to destroy him before he took out half of Summersea and all of this surrounding country side with him. And that's assuming they were ever able to destroy him at all."

"...oh. When are you going to cleanse it?"

"We aren't."

"Wait, but you...you have to! We can't leave this land!"

"You're right, you can't," replied Carrie enigmatically. "To do so...you and your companions have the taint, as I said. You're like walking energy-packs for Dark mages looking for a boost. And it's just like a caffeine-type pick up either. We're talking serious magical enrichment...all of you combined, if he managed to catch you alive and keep harvesting it off your body, and it would even be worse than if they were able to tap into the land."

To that Brenna didn't reply, she just followed and watched, unable to think of a reply to such a point-blank answer. Things had changed overnight, it seemed, and even if they had more hope than before, deep in her gut she didn't see how things would work out if they were truly as bad as the twins had said.

"If you're wondering who is going to cleanse this place, well, to be honest, I don't know either," admitted Carrie a bit sheepishly as she walked on, completing the same as the time before every ten yards or so. "They are called the Sensor and Cleanser. It's one of the darker sides of the council, that they never talk about, and while we were warned that we might come into contact with them there was also not a guarantee that they would come swooping to our rescue."

"What do we do if they don't come?"

"...."

Brenna felt the icy hand of dread enclose her heart, squeezing it painfully. Something told her that the answer was not one that she would like, and she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

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Talia sat up on the railing of the ship, enjoying her time off and soaking up heat from the blazing sun overhead. She didn't have duty until the next day, giving her time to relax and just stretch out lazily in the sun in the first time in a long time.

Feeling someone watching, she sat up to find Ami heading towards her, her usual bright but slightly shy smile in place. "Heyla...mind if I join you?" said Ami in her slightly slurred Trader talk, unable to pronounce the complex syllables quite as easily as her companions did.

"No. Whole ship is Captain Jen's really, so I can't much tell you where to sit and where not to," replied Talia jovially. "Where've you been today?"

"With the Captain, giving her more goods advice and stuff that I remember from our next destination," explained the white woman as she sat down on the railing, though her posture was not as relaxed as her friend's and her hands gripped the edges as a precaution in case they randomly hit some rough waters in the ocean. "Just doing the job I've been hired to do and all."

"Where all have you been?"

"Oh, little bit of everywhere." Ami waved one hand about in a generalization. "Yajin Islands for a bit, as far up north as the lands where there's no travel except by skis and skates from September to May. All the way to the southern tip of the main land until it curls back up to Yaro and Junchan. At least stepped foot on most of the islands in the Emerald Sea. Yeah...a little bit of everywhere."

"So it would seem..." Talia shook her head slightly. "I've only been to our family's village, and then the few voyages to ports that we've taken since I joined the crew."

"Oh, so you are a relation to the Captain?"

"No, her only relatives are Jack, Gwen, and even though she's not related to Nicole she had known her the longest from what I gather." The Trader shrugged. "They don't talk much about their family or where they're from."

"Yeah, I noticed that."

"You're a kaq, but a perceptive one at that if you saw that," commented Talia with an easy shrug. "We, in my family, rarely invite your kind on the ship as a rule of thumb. But if the Captain and her nymph like and trust you I suppose I have no choice but to do the same."

"You do have a choice," Ami corrected her lightly. "However...I'm glad you're following your Captain's lead."

"Been on other Trader ships?"

"Uh huh."

"Not a great experience?"

"If you weren't more reliable than most merchants I know and I hadn't a need for food, clothes, and shelter, I likely would avoid working for your types all together." She sighed. "Not that you aren't fair and true to your word, but I am usually not spoken to at all while on board. And told to stay out of the business of running the ship until they have need of me."

"You can't blame them for sticking to what they know. Few kaqs I have met are as honest and bright as you, and thus we have our reasons for staying away from them."

"Merely preserving your way of life."

"Exactly."

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Kristen nearly panicked when she heard someone tromping through the bushes around noon, finding the grounds gardeners combing the bushes for weeds in between them and trimming them as they went. Looking around quickly for anything she might escape too, she spotted the door open to a huge structure not ten feet from where she crouched. One more look confirmed that there was no one there to see her, so she darted out of her cover and ran with everything she had left for the darkened doorway.

Once in side, she glanced about before putting her back to the wall and breathing a sigh of relief. There was no one in the darkened hallway, and she couldn't hear anyone else nearby. About to creep farther into the structure, she froze as the sound of footsteps came from the single hallway just around the bend. Unable to go back outside by the gardeners and be seen by them, and unable to go down the hall or be caught by whoever it was there, she looked around and saw a ladder that led up through the ceiling to another room.

Even faster than when she ran did she scale that ladder, reaching the top and scrambling off to the side panting heavily. A quick look around revealed the room as just a supply area, and she assumed she was safe as she sat down among the sacks there. About to settle down and attempt to find a comfortable place in which to snatch a couple more hours of sleep, the young woman was startled from her feelings of safety when there were loud voices at the bottom of the ladder.

"Nah, Brent, it's your turn! Cap'n said so, so get to it!"

"I jest did the hauling yesterday, can't have that duty two days in a row!"

"Then yeh can take it up with him, I jest be the messenger."

"And an ugly one at that..."

"Get hauling already! Cap'n will have your hide if he comes back an it hasn't been done."

"Yeah, yeah."

Feeling her heart stop as she heard someone slowly climbing the ladder, looking around frantically once more for somewhere to hide. Unable to hide behind the stores, as tightly packed against the wall as they were, she spotted what looked to be a trap door in the side of the wall that she quickly undid the latch to and quietly closed behind herself before turning around to see where she had gotten herself this time.

It looked exactly like Jon's setup. Only this time, instead of empty space below, it was the guards bunks.

"Oh no..."

Going still as she heard the man tromping about in the room behind her, Kristen sat with her back to the door on the narrow ledge that ran around the edges of the room. If she didn't move, someone might walk in and see her sitting there like that. And, even with her fighting abilities, she didn't weigh her chances to be very good against a whole garret full of soldiers.

Standing and putting her back against the ledge, she crept along until she reached where the meeting joists and beams formed a secluded sort of platform in the corner. From there she planned her next move, and was just about to make the 'dash' across the beams to the other side where it looked like it had a direct connection to the ledge on the walls outside when some others entered from below and began to mill about the huge room. The opportune moment had passed, and she was stuck there in the corner hardly daring to even breathe. Things would not be completely still and quiet again until that night, and she waited until then to make her next move.

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Alyse woke some time later to Revlis lying across the end of her bed, flat on her back juggling a few balls made of tied up rags over her head in boredom.

"Aww...what a cute little kitty...Ow!!"

Revlis just grinned and kept on juggling her four instead of five now tied ball rags over here head, the fifth lying next to Alyse where it had landed after whacking her in the head. "Nice to see you awake. Feeling alright?"

"I'm still drained." Alyse stretched her back and then stretched her sensing, finding them still severely limited. "Yeah, definitely still drained...I'm awake, though, and that's an improvement."

"That's good to know. Want to wake up sleepy head over there or do I get that honor?"

"Go ahead," replied Alyse as she pulled herself from under the covers and headed behind the screened-off corner. Stripping off her night clothes, she poured water from the pitcher there into a deep basin and washed her face in the chilled water. "Brrr..."

Revlis grinned, and then fell into panther form. Padding silently across the room, she took a few steps back from the foot of the bed before leaping up onto it with a playful pounce right on Ladon's stomach. Prancing about a bit as he squealed like a girl, trying to sit up a straight and unable to with the giant black fur ball on him, she then flopped down on her side with her tail twitching in his face and watching him with her slit yellow eyes from near his knees.

"Rev...lis...!" he gasped, sputtering when some of the fur from the tail got in his mouth. "Pleh! Ack...c'mon...!"

She just purred in reply, giving him the biggest kitty-eyes in the world.

"Not even working this time," he told her flatly, giving up in his struggle to sit up and simply lying there in defeat. "Hnn...you're not making it easy to breathe..."

"Revlis, off him," called Alyse as she came out from the screen, looking somewhat refreshed and dressed in clean clothes. "Come on, we have to eat so we can get going again."

"You're drained, though," pointed out Landon as he gratefully scrambled out from the huge panther the moment she moved off of him.

"Were you awake when I said that?"

"Heck no. I can feel it, though."

"Feel it?"

Revlis was at his side in an instant, eyes bearing down into his almost hungrily. "What do you mean by that?!"

"...wait, why do you care??"

"As a Sensor and Cleanser you should be connected...but not that connected!" Her tone took on a lecturing feel to it, both Alyse and Landon shrugging. "You should only know her reserves when in contact with her!"

"Come on, when she's at full power you can feel her 'sensing' everything around her as if it were rain or something," replied Landon quickly. This got him another odd look.

"You shouldn't be able to feel that either," said cat girl ominously. "You really are a strange pair..."

"Food," said Alyse emphatically as her stomach growled. "Then we can puzzle all this out. Let's head downstairs, if you don't mind...?"

"Food sounds good to me!" Landon grinned as he ducked behind the screen long enough to completely change his clothes and was back out a heartbeat later beating a trail to the dinning area below. "Hey, Alyse, if you're low why don't you let me link to you??"

"Link?" she inquired as she followed at a slower pace, taking her seat at his side when she finally reached the table he had placed himself at.

"Yeah, remember? Where we like 'link into' each other's abilities, give each other a boost and stuff like that?" He took a huge bite of buttered roll, lunch being served to them as they'd slept straight through breakfast. "I wouldn't mind, not like I need my 'abilities' for anything right now..."

"It might help speed things up," added Revlis coaxingly. "Anything to get a closer read on where we're going is good."

"Well...alright." She held her hand out to him, letting him take it gently before she fell into a deep meditation and pulled him along. He was right, he was far fresher than she and with the generous lift his presence gave her, she was able to reach to the last spot she could 'recall' as being near the unmagic and even beyond as she searched around there with him 'looking over her shoulder' so to speak. Finally spotting something, only a glimmer of what it had been before, but a definite taint that was steady through certain sections of the land, they pulled out together to find the Tavern's main room mainly emptied and cat girl sitting across from them looking bored out of her skull. Alyse blinked unsteadily as she got some flashes of people and places around it as usual when she opened her eyes, however this time they looked familiar...maybe?

"Must you take so long?!" she whimpered as they let go and fell to their meal ravenously.

"Excuse us for doing our job," shot Alyse, rolling her eyes as she did. "Anyways, I have a general idea...let's finish eating so we can get moving again."

"Sounds like a plan to me!"

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Ben waited until the clocks chimed the stroke of midnight, creeping out of his bed and padding like a ghost of a shadow down the halls he'd grown as familiar with as the back of his hand over the passing of the months. The moon, for the first time in weeks, hung over the miniature kingdom in a clear sky with a myriad of stars twinkling overhead.

Rounding the corner, he kept his eyes forwards and ears open in case one of the night guards should come around on their rounds and decide he needed to be punished for being out so late. What he didn't notice until too late was the figure sneaking up behind him, grabbing him by the neck at the last second.

"Gotcha!"

"AH!?"

Whirling around, Ben was shocked to see Artor standing there, in fine silk night robes and looking like he was ready to get into some mischief.

"You scream like a girl," he commented flatly, giving Ben a teasing grin.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" retorted the servant, adding at the last second in case someone was listening. "Sir."

"Servants are also not supposed to be out in the hallways after the master is abed," replied the Master's son knowingly. "What are you doing wandering around like this when you know you're not supposed to be?"

"I was summoned," said Ben in the straight face that all servants were taught by their peers to assume.

"Liar," replied Artor with a smile. "But that's ok, I won't tell."

"Ok, thanks, then I'm gonna..."

"So long as you take me with you."

Ben paused, uncertainty obvious on his face. "Well...I..."

"Come on, promise I won't make a sound while we're walking."

Caving, and only because he really didn't have a choice, Ben nodded. "Ok, come on."

"Where are we going?"

"The roof."

"Oh."

Leading the way, and showing far more of the servant short-cuts than he wished to though he was sure the boy had once known all the passages of the mansion in his more childish days, they quickly, and noticed by none, reached their destination.

"Wow..." Artor gazed upwards, turning a slow circle. Winter had melted away not long ago, and though there was still a deep chill in the night air it was hardly noticed by the two preteens as they stared at the depthless deep above them that shone with trillions of pin pricks of light littered across the inky expanse.

"Yeah, I know."

Sitting down, they stayed that way, back to back, sharing the silent experience of studying the heavens above. They certainly weren't enemies, or exactly close friends, but this kind of simple companionship...with that and their stars, they were content.

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Surrounded in a ward circle of some greenish power the female twin had laid down, Brenna sat cross legged across from the odd pair doing her best to mimic their breathing movements and counts in her head. It wasn't coming easy though, and the harder she concentrated and attempted to clear her mind the more crowded into it. Frowning, she was about to give up when the memory of walking in the fields when they were halfway through the season came to mind. Everything was green and fresh...all about her she could smell the damp earth and the scent of fresh growth as the crop she'd tended since they were no more than baby shoots continued to grow and expand. There in that place, she imagined her self sitting down among her plants and other growing things and began to meditate as they'd instructed.

Carlton, who wasn't there so much as to teach as he was to observe, immediately noted the change when she finally found her 'center' as they'd been trying to teach her for the last hour. The place in her mind where she was most relaxed and receptive to learning new things.

"Now," went on Carrier quietly when she got the go-ahead nudge from her brother. "Imagine fitting yourself into something, something small that you feel represents you..."

Sitting there in the fields of her mind, Brenna imagined herself fitting into the shape of a sheaf of wheat, golden and glistening in the sun as it approached harvest time. This task she accomplished much quicker than the first, drawing all the tendrils of power that had been floating outside of her body in Carlton's vision vanishing as, for what was probably the first time ever, she exercised total control of the power that welled up inside of her.

Impressed, but reserved in saying so, the young man stood as he tapped his sister on the shoulder. "That will be enough."

Brenna opened her eyes, blinking as they came into focus in confusion as she stretched her decidedly cramped body. "Did I not do well?"

"No, you did!" replied Carrie brightly with a smile.

"It was satisfactory," corrected her brother roughly as he scuffed lines in the powder with his boots, scattering it thoroughly into the surrounding grass.

"Oh, ignore him," huffed Carrier as she pulled herself to her feet and helped Brenna to hers. "He's just a stick in the mud half the time..."

Brenna nodded, still unsure though. Wiping her sweaty hands on the front of her tunic, she watched as the young woman caught up with her twin and began to berate him quietly. Deciding to let it go, she headed for the house to join the rest for lunch. Meditation had worked up quite the appetite!

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Nicole floated about lazily on the ship, finally getting so bored with the waves that lapped in all sides on their way to the next port that she headed down below to see who else might be off duty. Going past Trevor, Tanner, and Tyler's closed bedroom door and hearing what sounded like their usual daily scuffle inside, she floated on past (places with flying fists and feet were not safe for nymphs of her size) and instead found Ami in the small room where she'd been installed lying in her hammock tinkering with something overhead.

Coming in without announcing her presence, the miniature person flew up beside her, watching in fascination before asking, "What're you doing?"

Ami cried out loud in surprise and flipped out of her hammock, landing on the floor in a painful heap before scrambling to her feet and looking around hastily as if to ward off an attacker. "What?! Who's there?!!"

"It's just me," said Nicole with a laugh as she appeared in front of Ami, as harmless as ever. "Sorry, did I scare you?"

"You can't just sneak up on people like that!" grumped the young woman as she sat back down in her hammock, rubbing her sore spots from the fall gently. "It's not very nice!"

"No one else jumps when I do it, though," replied Nicole simply with a shrug. "And you probably wouldn't hear me if I called anyways. What were you doing up there?" She pointed to just above the hammock where a couple of screws were half-inserted into the wood.

"About to set up my wind catchers."

"Wind catchers?" Nicole couldn't help but show interest when the young woman held up a metal hoop with metal bits in various shapes and sizes hanging from it. "Oh, you mean like wind chimes!" Sending out one of her friends, the small contraption tinkled pleasantly. "Ha! I like that one."

"Yeah, it's one of my favorites too," admitted Ami with a grin. "I used to have a wooden one what was like a larger version of it, but it got damaged in a storm during a voyage."

"That's too bad...where do you find them?"

"Around..." Ami held up another one made of finely shaped glass. "This is from way up by the Salty Sea. And this one..." She held up one of finely crafted copper. "Is from Duke Verdis's copper mining towns in the northern part of his territory."

"Wow. How many you got? Or have you ever had?"

"Not a clue." Ami carefully tied up the copper one, though she left the glass one in the box by her bed for safe keeping and not that Nicole could blame her. It was likely to get shattered otherwise. "I keep finding new ones and selling old ones when I find someone who takes a likely to one and pays some extravagant price for it. Not that I started this collection for money, but it has come in handy a few times when I'm running short on coins."

"Like a nest egg," replied Nicole knowingly.

"Exactly."

The two oddly-proportioned companions grinned at each other. It twisted Nicole's heart a little, thinking of the real Ami back home who was so very like the one she spoke to now in some ways. Still, this 'copy' was a pretty good substitute at the moment and they spent much of the day going over the many wind chimes and wind catchers the translator pulled from among her possessions.

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Kristen finally allowed herself to breath easy several hours later, her stomach practically gnawing on her backbone with hunger and feel more than a little faint with exhaustion. Even the little sleep she had gleaned while in her cramped position had not done much to revive herself, and she wondered seriously if she could complete the next part of what she hoped to accomplish.

Standing when there was only one light left in the huge room of bunked, sleeping soldiers by the door, she waited until the next shift switched and she was sure everyone was at least not paying attention to what was going on above them she began to creep along the rafters to the other end. Her first big obstacle came in the form of a huge beam completely cutting through the middle of the one she was currently walking on vertically, with the only way to get past it to hope she could shimmy around it on the inch-wide ledge on the sides without falling to the other side.

Taking a deep breath even as her eyes began to droop tiredly, the young woman took out the stolen dagger since the pole she'd been carrying had long since been left behind while fleeing her enemies, she shoved it into a crack in the beam and held onto it with all her might, using it as an extra support as she edged her way over the tiny ledge. Getting her right foot around the other side and getting an arm around it as well, she had almost made it when her left foot slipped from the ledge, bringing her shoulder painfully against the same edge her right foot was wedged behind and both hands grasping either the dagger or the edge of the beam as hard as they could. Gasping quietly, she remained like that, one foot hanging off into space and all the other three limps scrambling quietly to avoid the same fate. Getting a firm grip she hauled herself back upright, leaving the dagger where it was in the vertical beam as she plopped down on the opposite side breathing heavily. She'd made it, but...another close call like that and she wasn't sure her aching muscles could stand the strain.

Standing as soon as she was sure she could without shaking, Kristen made her way across the beam, no longer even aware of the huge space beneath her in her determination and desire to leave this wretched place as soon as possible. For those who resided there for work, she was sure it wasn't that bad, but for her as a kidnapped person it was pure hell.

She was about halfway across when she encountered her next obstacle, a foot-wide space in the beam where parts of it had been removed. After that part, though, it didn't even seem to faze her as she stepped over it, completely in control as she went on.

Now to her final obstacle. Coming to the railing, she slowed her pace before she silently crawled over it. Glancing about nervously, she saw no one until she stepped outside and nearly collided with the guard coming around the corner. Sidestepped his initial grab for her arm once he got over his shock, she pulled back her fist and belted him in the face, neck, and chest as hard as she could. The final hit was straight into the metal breastplate he wore, though, and she could feel her skin splitting under the pressure over her knuckles.

Letting him fall to the side, she came to the wall itself and quickly crept down the nearest stairs cradling the nearly crushed fist in the crook of her other arm. Coming to the side gate at the bottom of the stairs, she whacked the guard there over the back of her head with her good fist from behind and kicked him quietly out of the way before taking the keys from his belt and letting himself out the door.

Once out and free once again, she took a quick look around and found herself deep in the 'Old Blood' section of town, where the lower nobles of long lineage lived. Not sure how to get out of there, she rounded the bend and found four figures dressed all in black standing outside the wall staring up at the top with ropes and such in hand. Looking at them suspiciously, she was about to meld herself back into the shadows and take another street when the tallest one caught side of her and pulled back his hood. Not that it helped, because his skin was so dark you still couldn't see his face. His voice she recognized though, and she almost smiled as he called her name.

"Kristen!?" called Chris hopefully.

"Keep it down!" she called back softly, trotting back over to them quickly to discover Matt, Jon, and Cam as his accomplices. Mike, they told her, had forgone this for a night of drunken pleasures and, without her there to threateningly dissuade him, he'd gone. "Ok...that still doesn't explain why you're here!" she hissed as they waited for the night watch to pass before running down another side street towards their house.

"What?! Did you think we were going to let them just take you like that?!" snorted Matt incredulously.

"Yeah, we came to rescue you!" added Chris.

Kristen stopped dead in her tracks, glaring at the older three. "Do I look like I need rescuing?!"

"Um...no. But you might've!"

Cam smirked as she began to grind her teeth, saying no more for the moment so they could get home but any idiot could tell those three were in for it now. "I told you so..."

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Alyse paused, stopping her horse as well in the middle of the road.

"What's wrong?" asked Landon immediately, pulling up beside her.

"The unmagic has been warded," she replied, a hint of panic in her voice. "If the ward was done to contain it to be 'absorbed...with the flare ups its more immense than I even first thought...we have some serious trouble on our hands, here."

"What do we do?" asked Revlis, on her other side as usual.

"Go ahead of me with Landon, make sure he gets there safely and as quickly as possible," replied Alyse as she wheeled her horse around, heading instead of out into the country side into Summersea itself. "We're going to need some extra back ups like in the cave. A lot of extras, to be honest, to create a ward of our own and then to supplement the power that will be needed to cleanse the place in one sitting."

"Could we break it up?" put in Revlis.

"Too risky," came the immediate reply. "If trouble were to come while we were both still drained, leaving only you to combat it...your panther form would do you little good against a true Unmagic Adept."

Landon thrust out his arm automatically. "Give me the location. We'll go there immediately and protect it until you arrive."

The link was now simultaneous, mere seconds passing before they let go and Alyse turned to race back the way they'd come to a cross roads that would take her to Summersea and its Mages there.

"Be careful!" she yelled over her shoulder as she disappeared into the distance. "And hurry! I'll be there as soon as I can!"

"Let's go," said Landon gravely as he kicked his mount into a swift gallop, leaning low over the neck as he'd learned to ride as fast as he possibly could. Revlis was right on his heals, urging her mare into stretching her legs as far as she possibly could to keep up with the sprinting gelding in front of them. In for a nickel in for a dime, as they said, and they were really in for some action this time. She could feel it.

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Briteyes pulled her hood back from her face, absolutely soaked to the bone and her clothes sticking to her like a second skin as Silven huddled tiredly in the water-proof pouch she carried her instruments and scrolls in. Being let in by the guards after providing her proof of identity, she continued onwards with sandals that squished through the muddy paths and sang to herself with uplifting spirits despite the weather and her present condition of walking along outside the walls of Winding Circle at nearly midnight.

_**Just a few more steps to go**_

_**There's one thing that I know**_

_**To me courtesy they will show **_

_**When I come to the door**_

_**Sopping wet and cold to boot**_

_**Really, I don't give a hoot**_

_**All of it is completely moot**_

_**When I come to the door**_

_**Warm faces and food are there**_

_**Unlike those found anywhere**_

_**Be able to sleep without a care**_

_**When I come to the door**_

Are you going to add in a verse about the poor squirrel? put in Silven miserably. She was getting quite claustrophobic shut up as she was, and freezing cold from not being able to curl up around Briteyes' neck.

"Won't have to," replied Briteyes gamely as she closed the gate behind herself, her staff over one shoulder and looking about as bedraggled as she ever had before. "We're here."

Reaching for the front door, it opened before she could touch it to find an irate Rosethorn standing in the doorway, eyes flashing ominously.

"We generally don't let in drowned rats," she said cuttingly.

Briteyes just fell into a player's bow, the teasing grin on her face visible with the absence of her mask. "How about a drowned squirrel and performer? Ever take in those?"

"Let her in already, Rosie!" fussed Lark, pulling the soaked young woman indoors so she stood there dripping on the rug and closed the door behind them. Refraining from hugging her in her wet state, the dedicate relieved her of her overcape and tunic as Rosethorn took her staff and bag to hang by the fire. "Really, you must be quite cold..."

"Just a little chilled," she replied lightly. "Nothing that can't be fixed quick enough with some hot tea."

"I assume you'll want to be fed as well?" put in Rosethorn as Silven appeared out of her spot in the bag and curled herself cutely about the elder woman's neck who gave her an automatic scratch under her chin.

Briteyes didn't have to reply as her stomach growled loudly, the young woman flushing slightly in embarrassment. "...please?"

"You get her something to eat," ordered Lark as she pushed the performer into her bedroom to give her some dry clothes.

"Where are the kids?" she asked as she stripped behind a screen in one corner, toweling off before pulling on the spare robe Lark tossed over to her. "Oh, it feels go to be dry..."

"Already asleep," explained Lark as she wrung out her clothes before hanging them on hooks to dry. "They'll be excited to see you in the morning. Briar might miss you, he and Rosethorn have a trip planned to Summersea in the morning."

Briteyes shrugged as she walked back out into the open, barefoot and far more comfortable than she'd been in a few days. "Well, I'll be here when he gets back, I'm sure."

"Have a seat," invited Rosethorn from the table, already seated with a fresh mug of tea in front of herself and a plate filled with a cold ham and cheese sandwich, some vegetables, and cookies from Gorse's kitchen. "It's just leftovers, but I figured you wouldn't mind."

There was no reply, just the starved performer taking a huge bite out of the sandwich and swallowing it down with her own mug of tea. Silven sat beside her plate, chowing down hungrily on her own bread crusts and cheese. After getting a good start on her food, Briteyes swallowed the last bite and sighed.

"I suppose you'll want to hear what I've been up to this time?" she said as she sipped some more tea, relishing in its sweet taste.

"As always," replied Lark, a twinkle in her eye.

"Alright, well I met up with some old friends in Summersea..."

The night passed quickly, and it was not until right before dawn that the young woman was allowed to crawl into her bed upstairs in the attic and fall into a fully restful sleep lulled by the pounding rain overhead.

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Cheeks met Rupal down in the kitchen, sitting beside her at the table as he drank the coffee left to stay warm over by the fire. Helping himself to the dried fruit bars and a slice of bread with cheese, he ate slowly as he felt full and content for the first time as far as his stomach went like he'd only remembered from good times before the farm had started to fall. His mind was not as easily to gain its trust, though, and he considered his words before he spoke to his housemate.

"What do you think of the twins?" he asked carefully, wiping his mouth on a napkin as he did. "I mean, they're polite and all, and the sister's kinda cute and sweet, but I mean as people that just sort of invaded our farm out of the blue."

"They're nice enough, just like you said," replied Rupal, shrugging as she did. "They haven't shown yet that they can't be trusted with our farm, and they certainly helped feed us these last few days, but I do wonder about these claims of 'unmagic' that they make and stuff like that."

"I don't understand a lot of it either," admitted Cheeks in concern. "I'm not saying they're necessarily lying to us, but promising the farm will be good as new after they have some 'special cleanser' guy come and chant some mumbo jumbo over it... Excuse me if I'm a little skeptical about all that."

"No, you're right," replied his companion in a low voice. "It does seem a little far-fetched, even after all the other strange things we've seen here. But you know what? Since they've come, Brenna's had hope again that we were going to make it through. Kaitlin went over and played a prank on Libby for the first time in months. And you've gone for a few days now without sounding like you were a long time smoker. Everywhere I look things are improving, even the bunnies beginning to perk up more than before, hopping all over the place and getting into trouble. So maybe...maybe they will do some good here, and help us turns thing around once again. Do I think it'll all happen in a single season? Not really. In fact, physically speaking, it's impossible. But we can always dream, and if they can at least get rid of those weeds I think we'll be able to survive through another season just fine."

"So...you're settling on a tentative hopefulness?"

Rupal nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm not going to take their words as straight promises, but as possibilities in the future. And if they prove to be doing something other than helping this farm, I'll personally go find that mage guy that's supposed to be helping us and wring his neck."

"Alright. I can do that." Rising, Cheeks put his things in the sink to be washed. "I have to go chop some more wood, keep at least a little food coming in without their help should things turn south. I'll be back before dinner."

"Ok, we'll wait for you."

"Thanks."

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Nicole sat on Trevor's shoulder for the first time in what felt like forever, enjoying a night shift with him at the helm of the ship. Sipping a flask of warmed tea, she enjoyed the cool breezes that curled about her in a friendly fashion and mussed with her lengthening hair.

"Beautiful night," commented the Trader man as he steered the ship onwards, occasionally checking with the compass that sat there beside the wheel.

"Yeah, it'd be better if there were just a little fewer clouds, though," replied Nicole wistfully as she looked up and caught a glance of the moon overhead.

"It'd make visibility a lot better..."

"Hey!" called Jack from the main deck, climbing the steps towards them quickly. "The lamps have been trimmed and refilled with oil so you're set."

Trevor gave him a quick salute, though it had a mocking edge to it. "Yes sir!"

"You're being awfully nice tonight," commented Nicole teasingly. "What's the occasion?"

"Your death in my dreams," replied Jack with a cold smile. "Plus a cold mug of ale and a warm bunk waiting for me below."

"Too bad it's only a dream," sighed Nicole with a laugh. "Because then I really could haunt your dreams...oh, that'd be fun!!"

Jack glared, then headed below. "More like a nightmare..."

"What is it between you two?" asked Trevor as he disappeared from sight, Nicole sending just enough of a puff of wind to trip him halfway down and listening in amusement at the crash at the bottom that came from it.

"He's a bigot against short people," she replied calmly. "Nymphs in particular, especially ones that like to play pranks. Not sure why..."

"Uh huh, I'm sure." Trevor gave her a stern look, but couldn't help but smile as she looked back at him innocently. "Well, I suppose someone has to keep him in line, right? Jen's not always around to keep him in check, and he can get pretty egotistical at times."

"Which is why I'm here," she replied sweetly. "Just maintaining the balance, see? A little bit of trickery here, a little mocking there, and he knows he's not as big or bad as he thinks he is."

"Maintaining the balance, right...Captain does a little of her own maintaining sometimes," he commented lightly. "Like when she beat him down the other day all those months again with her staff. Or when she told him off for relying on her to keep Tanner off his back. Not that hers are better, but they seem to be a little more effective sometimes."

"You mean they last longer?"

"Yeah."

"That's because she only bothers to get on his case occasionally," explained Nicole knowingly. "I bet if I left him alone for a few weeks and let him get a puffed up before I took him down, it'd be just as effective as what Jen does."

"Maybe, but I think Captain would get some complaints about his attitude and maybe take care of it before you did," replied Trevor with a shrug. "It's a delicate balance...you don't want to upset it, would you?"

Nicole snorted derisively. "And lose my title of the best prankster nymph ever? Heck no! That just proves that I can't ever leave him alone, and I won't."

Trevor laughed. "Alright, you do that."

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Kristen sat in across from Chris, Jon, and Matt; Cam watching from the kitchen counter where he was making her a mug of hot tea with a grin on his face.

"Now," she state icily. "What ever made you think I couldn't handle whatever situation had developed on my own?"

Opening his mouth to speak, Jon had a feeling it probably wasn't a good idea, but then again when did he fully listen to his brain? "Well, you were gone for a couple of days..."

"It took time to escape, yes, but I never requested backup," she replied hotly.

"What if you'd been unable to communicate with us?" pointed out Matt quickly. "And you had needed our help? Like they cut off your leg or something? Or cut out your tongue so you couldn't talk!" Getting weird looks from everyone around him, he held up his hands defensively. "What?! It could happen!!"

"Uh huh, because that would be a wise idea," coughed Kristen, rolling her eyes. "My leg I could understand, that would cripple me, but my tongue? In the long run, what good would that do? It is still possible to teach by demonstration."

"That's not the point," broke in Chris. "You were missing, and we didn't know what else to do. What did you expect? That we'd stay here like good little boys sitting on our hands?!"

"Uh, yeah," replied Kristen sharply. "There was no threatening note sent to you. No message to come save me. What if I'd just happened upon Amanda and followed her back to wherever she's staying now?"

"Briteyes, as she now prefers to be called, hasn't been back in weeks," replied Matt flatly. "She's not staying in the Summersea are or we would've heard some news by now. Besides, if that was the case, our search for information would've have led us to the house that it did."

"Which reminds me, how did you find where I was?" she asked quickly, forgetting her anger only for a moment with curiosity. "I am slightly impressed, though only slightly."

"Jon and I went into a bar, complained about females in our profession, and were assured by a shady fellow too drunk for his own good that the good Baron would be attending to that problem soon enough," replied Matt in a slightly superior tone. "There's only two actual Barons in the city, one is infatuated with you, and it only took Cam innocently asking one of the resident serving ladies for the other one to find that he had a female guest locked in one of his far rooms."

"It was easier than we thought, really," put in Jon with a grin. "The guy was so blasted he passed out before we could get the address, though, and that took a little asking around."

"Regardless," finished Kristen. "I'm not some fragile flower to be protected all the time, got it? Unless I specifically ask for your help, don't try to come and save the day or something like that!"

"Oh, come on, what if you'd been stuck on a catwalk or something," snorted Jon. "I've seen you on the beams for my class; you can hardly make it there when you have a safety harness on!"

"For your information, I went over something just as bad or even worse than your 'beams' twice while escaping that place!" retorted Kristen, giving him a hard glare. "I don't like heights, but now I can manage them just fine!"

"Alright, alright...at least all that work came in handy."

"Yes, it did," she conceded with a nod.

"I told them they were wasting their time," said Cam as he brought her the tea and sat down beside her with a gooey bun in hand to eat. "But they wouldn't listen to me at the time."

"Well, thank you for someone believing in my ability to take care of myself," stated Kristen, giving him a wry smile. "Thanks for the tea, I'll be taking it with me..." Rising, she walked over to the ladder before making her way up it with one hand, the other holding the mug of tea. "Good night." In reality, the fact that is was not exactly difficult for either her to escape or the others to find her led her to believe that, once again, Devon was messing around in their lives, but there wasn't much she could do about it and thus simply took out what anger she did have on those poor boys who lived with her.

"That's the last time I'll try and come to her rescue!" muttered Chris as he walked her leave with a frown. "What's the big deal anyways?!"

"Don't try to think about it too hard, it'll only make things worse," advised Matt as he rose as well, heading for the ladder to his room. "It's just a Kristen thing."

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Landon and Cat slowed only once in their journey as they passed through a small town, pausing to water the horses and give them a good rubdown while they caught their wind before they pressed on again. It would not do to founder the beasts now, not when even Landon couldn't say for sure how much distance they had left.

Galloping as hard as they thought the horses could take, the pair spotted a rundown farm in the distance and immediately armed themselves riding as they were with the sight of two twins standing just outside the wards on the unmagic that would obvious to even a half-trained mage.

"Get away from there!" yelled Landon as he drew his sword, leaping from the gelding's back the moment he'd entered the yard and racing with Revlis close on his heals to interpose himself between the twins and the fields. "Try to take advantage of such a pool of it, would you? I'll destroy you with it!"

"Who are you?!" demanded the male twin, reaching into his pouch threateningly. "We're the protector's of this land!"

"Protectors for a master?" sneered Revlis growling as her fangs elongated with her panther form. "Grroohhh..."

"Don't draw on me, mage!" yelled Landon, others pouring from the house, among them a stout young man with a club in hands and a young woman surrounded by pink bunnies. His own sword became aflame with the usual blue lights, which he leveled at his supposed opponents menacingly. "You will not like the consequences..."

"What's going on?!" demanded one young woman with exceedingly curly hair, with an air of one who was in charge.

"We've waited too long, they've come to steal the deposit from our protection!" replied Carrier, turning pale as she allowed her brother to step in front of her.

"Steal it?! Liar, it's you who are to steal it, pretending to be what you are not to these poor folks!" Landon ground through his teeth as Revlis bared her fangs with a low growl.

"He's mad," said the male twin, his voice laced with hate. "Why would we wish to use it?! It can only be used to destroy, and I am a mage of life!"

"A perverted one, perhaps," snorted Landon, all reason falling on deaf ears as he tried to defend that which he assumed as being held by the enemy. "I warn you this one: Leave! Take nothing, not even these commoners, and leave before you face a wrath you cannot even begin to imagine!"

His opponent took a step closer, drawing his hands together as a circle of green appeared around his feet with the same colored fire flaring in his eyes. "Come and try me!"

"If you so wish to die...!"

"LANDON!!"

Everyone seemed to pause just as the two mages brought their powers to strike, Alyse coming to a sliding halt between the two of them, fans out and ready to deflect anything which might be flung her way.

"Stop this!" she ordered, Landon immediately lowering his sword though his face conveyed his confusion and Revlis relaxing to sit warily at his side. Turning to the twins, she remained mounted and with fans at ready as the male's green circle around his feet slowly began to fade. "You are Carrie and Carlton, yes?"

"It depends, who are you?" replied the male twin coolly, his hands still held together in the ready position.

"I am the Sensor," she replied flatly, giving him a searing glare. "And you nearly went to battle with my partner the Cleanser. For you, that would not have been a wise choice."

"Alyse, is that you?!"

The young woman looked up past the mages, her jaw dropping slightly at the sight of Brenna, Cheeks, Rupal, Libby, and another she didn't know very well. "...is that you really you guys?!"

"If that's really you then it really is us," replied Brenna, breaking out into a relieved smile. "You don't know how good it is to see you..."

"Are there any others?" asked Alyse, dismounting and coming over to Brenna though she couldn't touch her at the moment. "Besides your five?"

"No," replied Libby with a quick shake of her head. "We haven't seen anyone else as of yet. You?"

"Three others. Olivia, Bryanna, and Randy," she said, ticking them off on her fingers. "You guys put the total up to 10."

"WHOA!! What's going on here?" asked Landon, still not moving from his spot and the twins with Revlis just looked confused out of their mind. "Alyse, who are these guys?"

"They're with us," she replied, stressing the last word slightly. His eyes widened slightly, then he broke out into a laugh. "You guys, this is Landon, he was an exchange student who came in to the band room right before we got pulled in..."

"That still doesn't explain what's going on!" cut in Carlton, still glancing around suspiciously. "We're the guards for this deposit, are you truly the ones come to cleanse it?"

"Yes," replied Alyse. "Don't worry, my two companions just overreacted. Now look." She looked around, letting her next words stand for everyone. "All questions will be answered soon! Landon and I have to complete our task first, before any others find this place."

"Can you really cleanse away the unmagic in one go?" asked Brenna hungrily.

"Yes, and from yourselves as well," came the quick reply. "Just let us work."

"Come on, they're gonna need to eat when it's done," said Carrie, taking her brother's arm and pulling him towards the house along with the rest of the group.

"Well," said Alyse as she surveyed the land with a frown, both of her partners coming to stand on either side. "Let's get busy."

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Briteyes woke the next day, rolling over to find another in her area feeding Silven bits of a honey roll and candied nuts. "It's usually not polite to come into people's rooms without asking," she murmured teasingly.

"It's also not usually polite to sleep until noon when you're a guest in someone's home," came the tart reply, Tris, shoving her sliding glasses back up on the bridge of her nose with a huff.

"Nice to see you to," said Briteyes with a grin, letting the barbed comment roll off her scarred skin lightly. "Why aren't you at lessons?"

"They've been suspended."

Briteyes rummaged around in the box of clothes she usually left behind, coming up with a clean shirt and pants in a light gray color to wear. Shooing her companion out, more to save her from the sight of her many scars rather than out of modesty, she changed into the fresh clothes. "What for?"

"Niko is busy."

"Where's Briar and Rosethorn?"

"In the city."

Hearing an edge to the younger girl's voice, the performer slowly turned towards her with a frown. "Say...where in town are they again?"

"Hulda's House."

There. A definite note of fear quavered in the young girl's voice ever so slightly. Standing and brushing past her to the ladder, she was down in the kitchen seconds later lacing up her sandals with Silven darting after her chattering away inquiringly.

Amanda, what's going on?! she finally demanded, biting her human companion's ear hard enough to catch her attention.

"OW! You didn't have to do that! I'm going into town, alright?"

"You can't!" Daja and Sandry, who were watching the exchange in shock from by the fire, and Tris standing on the stairs white as a sheet all looked to Lark who even appeared surprised by the amount of force in her voice. "Briteyes," she said more calmly. "You can't. You need to stay here, ok?"

"No." The young woman shook her head as she finished with her sandals, pulling on her overcape which was now relatively dry.

"I can't let you go there." Lark put a hand on Briteye's arm in a restraining manner. "Brite, you don't understand..."

Pulling the elder woman aside, the younger woman shook her head to signal her to be silent. "I know," she said simply, staring her straight in the eyes. "And there are others in that city that I can't let lie in the path of such danger. I promise I will come back alive. I must go."

Eyes wide, the dedicate frowned in puzzlement. "But, how could you...?"

"You're not leaving!" declared Sandry, putting herself in the way of the door with Daja and Tris behind her, silent but just as determined. "Briteyes, you can't, Briar told us...there's a bad sickness down there right now!"

Pausing in front of the trio with Silven on her shoulders, the performer bent over so she and the younger girl were eye to eye. "Sandry, tell me something," she replied slowly. "If Briar were in danger and didn't know it, or any of the others in this house were, would you stand by and stay where it was safe that you might not face the same danger."

"No, but they're my family," she replied, a distressed look overcoming her features.

"The only family I have is in the city right now, and they don't know what's coming," said Briteyes, a hint of desperation in her voice. "No one knows but you and I and the rest here what could happen. As their sister, how can I stay here and let them possibly be in danger? How could I call myself their family if I do not try and save them?"

"..." The blonde girl bowed her head, cheeks flushed and though it was hesitant, she moved out of the way. Daja did as well, leaving Tris standing there alone.

"You'd better come back alive," she stated harshly, refusing to let any emotion but annoyance show in her hard eyes. "Or I'll never forgive you."

Briteyes glanced at Silven, who sighed and nodded her agreeance. Picking up the squirrel, she deposited her into the younger girls hands. "Now I have to come back. Take good care of her, alright?"

Tris nodded. "I will."

Grabbing her staff, the young woman looked back one last time before she left at a dead run, sprinting as fast as she could for the gates and then down to the city itself. Time was short, all she could hope was she could run her race swifter than it would run its own course.

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Brenna sat in an absolute daze as Carrie and Carlton kept watch on the steps outside, everyone else watching through the windows in the kitchen. Alyse and Landon circled the fields, their strange friend who could turn into a huge black panther accompanying them as they dismantled the original wards the twins had created and put up their own instead. Black, shiny stones they'd never seen before sat in the middle of a spiral of some white powder every fey yards, and after they'd finished surrounding all the fields, the cat girl stepped back to wait as Alyse and Landon entered the marked off area to stand back to back.

"What are they going to do?" asked Kaitlin, watching curiously with her nose plastered to the window. "And why do we gotta stay here?"

"Because, they're ridding it of unmagic," replied Rupal calmly.

"What about us?" queried Cheeks with a frown. "They said we have the 'taint' too, what does that mean for us?"

"Your taint isn't life-threatening," said Carrie as she appeared in the doorway, a reassuring smile on her face. "Or at least it isn't yet. It might have evolved into that, given time, but with their help you can be cleansed safely enough."

"What happens if the taint becomes too great?" asked Rupal curiously, wishing to learn more as always.

"The life must be drained with the unmagic," she said quietly. "Once beyond a certain point their only choice is...death."

"We got lucky, then," sighed Brenna as she rose, coming and watching at the window as the shield was raised about the land, blocking the two inside from sight withholding the occasional glance as blue flames surged upwards towards the sky, curving into a dome of protection. "How will we know if it works? If they succeed in getting rid of all the unmagic?"

Carrie gulped, obviously reluctant to reply. "If they come out alive."

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Olivia, Bryanna and one hung over Randy looked back at the Lightsbridge school of Magery, regretting their need to leave despite the fact that it was time.

"That was quite a party," commented Olivia as she turned her mare away, towards the road bhind her.

"Yeah, it lasted a whole week," added Bryanna thoughtfully. "Very nice of the students to celebrate with us like that."

"I think they just wanted an excuse to get out of class."

Randy moaned, hunched over in his saddle. "Ohhh...my head..."

"I told you not to drink with those girls," snorted Olivia coolly, obviously displeased with his behavior. "Getting smashed is one thing. Making a fool of yourself in front of others is another."

"Unfortunately for you, they often seem to happen at the same time," added Bryanna dryly, giving the miserable young man an appraising look and finding something lacking. "Randy, why do you do things that you know are only going to make you feel worse in the morning?"

"Because, at the time, you don't think about things like that," he admitted with a shrug, trying to hold his head as still as possible, peering at her through bleary eyes. "The next morning is only a distant thought, really...the problem is it doesn't stay that way."

"Moron...do we have any idea where we're going?"

Bryanna shrugged. "Not really. The only ones we've met up with are Alyse and Landon, and seeing as we don't know where they are at the moment I was thinking some wandering around for awhile would do."

"Like when we were students, but without the planned stops?"

"Or like when we were fugitives," piped up Randy. "Except we're not wanted criminals anymore...and we don't have to scrounge for food...and we can sleep in real beds..."

"Anyways, I was thinking we head north for awhile...see what we can find," went on Bryanna with a shrug. "We won't find much work around here, or even Summersea period there's so many mages there. But maybe farther out, away from the Circle schools we'll find something we can do."

"Not like I have something better planned," agreed Olivia with a shrug. "Randy?"

He lifted his head slightly. "What?"

"It ok with you?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really."

"Will you let me have a bag of ice when we stop if I agree?"

"Yes."

"Alright...sure. Sounds good to me."

"Then we're settled. To the North!"

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"C'mon Captain, please?"

Jenny sighed, standing at the bow of her boat facing out to sea. "Why? 1st Ship Windsor is a fine name!"

"Yes, but Wyndcatcher sounds so much more lyrical," pointed out Talia with a smile. "And if there ever gets to be a Second Ship Windsor, you'll want something more than a number to separate their names."

"Not necessarily," replied Jenny a tad bit sourly. "And that's entirely an assumption, there may never be a Second Ship Windsor, not in my lifetime anyways. Look, Windsor is its name and Windsor it will stay!"

"Technically, that's not true," broke in Trevor, though he remained as respectful as ever. "Windsor is your family or clan name. This is the First Ship of the Windsor Clan, by its full title, and thus really doesn't have a name other than 'First Ship'."

Jenny glared at him in annoyance. "You're not being very helpful right now, Trevor."

"My apologies, Captain, but it's the truth," he replied with a slight shrug and a smile. "And you always encourage honesty."

"Yes, but only when it works to my favor!"

"Double standards aren't fair either, Captain," added Gwen innocently, getting several chuckles from the surrounding crew. "What kind of examples are you setting for your more impressionable crew members?"

"You, Gwendolyn, are about as impressionable as a rock," retorted Jenny with a bark of a laugh. "And I'd say the same is true for the rest of this lot."

"I still think we should change the name," put in Nicole, adding her voice among the rest.

"Hey, don't look at me," added Jack when several heads swung in his direction. "I don't much care. Windsor or Wynd-whatever, what does it matter? So long as I'm not the one painting it on the boat it doesn't matter to me."

"Then we've a hung jury," said Gwen, who technically was under Jack in command. It was only hers, Nicole's, Jen's, and Jack's votes that would count in the matter. The crew could argue all they wanted, but if those four decided something that's the way it was. "Come on, Jack, isn't Wyndcatcher a pretty name?"

"It's a load of B.S. is what it is," he replied with laugh. "Like I said, I don't care. Go bug Jen if you want to change someone's vote. I'll go with whatever she says."

"Never were man enough to stand up for what you wanted, were you?" mocked Tanner with a grin.

"Watch it, or you'll be mopping deck the rest of the way into port!"

"Yes, sir!'

"Come on, Jenny," coaxed Gwen, pulling out her big puppy dog eyes. "Please???"

Grumbling under her breath, the ship's Captain looked away, trying to resist the mesmerizing power of the puppy-dog eyes and finding herself nearly defenseless against it. "...fine. You may rename the ship Wyndcatcher."

"Get the paint, lads!" called Tanner triumphantly as the deck immediately became a swarm of activity. "We've got a ship to paint!"

"Thanks, Captain," said Talia with a wink and a salute, sauntering off to help with the activities.

"You're getting soft, you do realize that, right?" commented Nicole as she plopped herself on Jenny's shoulder.

"That's not it, really," replied Jenny with a shrug. "I was never exactly tough to begin with. Oh well, let's go make sure they don't make a mess of my ship."

"Yes, ma'am!"

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Kristen was out in the front of her house under the overhang by the cellar door, sorting through the 'payments' they'd received for this last weeks worth of lessons. Not everyone had the capability of paying in coin, and after doing price checks and such they'd agreed with those who couldn't a sort of barter system that consisted of meats, vegetables, and fruits they would accept in lieu of coin payments for their services. Granted, this weeks taking were going to be a little less than usual with the cancellation of classes two days in a row due to her partner's bumbling antics, but it would be enough to tide them over without touching their savings until next week.

Coming back up from depositing the goods they wouldn't need until later down there, she paused at the sound of several horses approaching quickly down the street at a ridiculous hour for normal human beings to be awake. If it weren't for her work, she'd never be out of bed before noon, and if she were in charge of the world she'd make it a rule as well. Besides that, it was pouring and she was glad for the protection of the extended roof from the drenching rains.

A lone rider came into view on a giant of a gelding, two others just like it saddled and ready to ride without passengers being led along behind. Skidding to a halt in front of their gate, the rider jumped off and tied the horses to the front gate before turning around and finally showing their face.

"Amanda?!! Where have you been!!"

"Kristen! Thank you Lord! Come, we have to hurry..." Running towards her, the young woman, though soaked and in some plain clothes Kristen had never seen her in before, grabbed her arm and darted in the front door like a madwoman. "Right now the past is not important. Go, pack enough clothes for a few days and wake the rest, there may not be much time left!"

"Pack for what?" Kristen stopped inside the door, forcing her friend to do the same. "Amanda, what's going on? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"This place will be filled when them, in a few days time," she replied ominously. "The plague is here, Kristen. Today. Right now. For the moment it may be contained in the lower district, I don't know for sure, but if you stay someone is going to die..."

"You only brought three horses," Kristen pointed out quickly, a feeling of dread forming in her stomach. "Even doubled up, someone will have to stay."

"I'm not going," admitted her friend with a nod. "I can stay here and look after things for you while you're gone. Keep it safe."

"I won't leave you here alone! Let me stay."

"No, Kristen, I can't die. You can. And if you do, you're not coming back home with us." Pausing, Briteyes wiped her wet face with the palm of her hand. "The only one who can stay, if you insist, is Jon. He'll live, no matter what happens. The rest of you have to leave, now!"

"But I..."

"Get Cam out of here." Briteyes gripped Kristen's arms tightly. "Please. He won't go if you stay. And I'm not putting him at risk in this."

"...alright. Let me go wake the others."

Moments later, everyone had assembled downstairs, Briteyes sitting around the kitchen table with them explaining what was going to happen.

"Today, and perhaps already, a disease will be discovered in a street rat befriended by one of the kids up in Winding Circle," she stated quickly. "From there it will spread through the lower districts and beyond. They'll call in blue pox, and a cure won't be found until after its spread through the whole city and into the Winding Circle temple itself. At least half the population will be infected, and many will die as well. I don't know what the exact ratio is, but if you stay someone will catch it and likely end up dead. With the odds being 7 to 9 that the person won't be immortal, I'd say it's a good shot that it'll be one of you who won't be coming back."

"How's it transmitted? Air? Touch?"

"By water, mainly," admitted the performer.

"That's easy," snorted Matt, settling back in his chair. "We lock ourselves in, drink only from our own pump and boil all the water before we use it."

"Not that easy, it's magically borne," replied Kristen tightly. "We can't stay here."

"Grab your things, then," said Chris as he rose, collecting his own bag and tossing it over his shoulder. "Which way should we head?"

"North, and don't stop until you're at least two town away," replied Briteyes firmly. "Don't worry about us here, just get as far away as you can." Out the door they went as one, Kristen taking the horse Briteyes had come in on and Cam sitting behind her. Chris had his own horse, leaving Mike and Matt to share the last one. Pulling something from her pockets, the performer threw it at Matt who caught it. "Use that for supplies!" she called as he opened it to find several silver coins.

"Where'd you get all that?" asked Jon a little suspiciously.

"Called in some favors," she replied with a shrug. "Come on, we've got work of our own to do."

"And what's that?"

"To make this place as plague-proof as we can. Come on."

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Alyse and Landon stood back to back in their shielded dome of fire, feeling the unmagic stir restlessly around them as the edges of it began to burn away.

"Do you think we could take it in one swoop, or should we chip at it a little at a time?" asked Landon as he reaching for her hand, both physically and in his mind to 'link' together.

Accepting both, Alyse shook her head. "If we chip at it, we'll be at it all week."

"One swoop, then?"

"If we can, yes."

"Alright. Let's begin."

Drawing upon his inner fires, Landon let Alyse weave her own strength into his doubling its capacity and the potency of his flame as the ground about their feet began to sizzle and crackle in a physical representation of the energies that were flowing about them. Building a 'base' from which to launch their attach, Alyse anchored it as Landon went along to the top, his mage vision showing him when the final strands were in place and prepared. Letting the base thicken and strengthen itself even further, 'reaching' out, he then twisted it, shaping the power into a spear headed weapon as Alyse still held onto the bottom.

Unsheathing his blade, the young man began to chant in time with his partner, the spirals with stones they'd set out gathering up the energies running at their feet and forming them into several smaller replicas of what they'd created, spinning spearheads and all. When everything had reached its zenith, and their creation strained with the energy it now contained, the young man turned and let Alyse grasped the handle of the sword as well, both of them turning it together downwards before forcing as with as much strength as they could muster into the ground, all of the mage energies reacting at the same time in the same manner.

"Strike!"

There was a terrifying wind as the creations struck with greater force than their masters had been able to, the pooled effects of the rippling energy effectively trapping and destroying all traces of the unmagic that hadn't been decimated instantly. Staying there, kneeling together, until they were sure every last iota was gone, the domed firewall dropped at last revealing Alyse panting on her kneels and Landon sprawled out flat on his back.

"Guys! Are you alright??"

Revlis sprinted towards them the moment she was sure it was safe, pulling two flasks from her belt and popping the corks from both with her teeth. "Here...drink this."

"Thanks," gasped Alyse hoarsely as she moved her legs from under herself and let Revlis support her as she drank it down quickly. Feeling a faint revival of her being, she nodded before motioning to Landon. "Help him. We still have to take care of our friends."

"Not right now, you're not," retorted Revlis. "You'll be resting is what you'll be doing."

"I know that! But if he recovers first he can take care of them without me. I'm not the official Cleanser, he is."

"Oh, right..." Walking up to the young man who's chest was still heaving with exhaustion, she pouring the liquid down his throat without any warning and watched in satisfaction as he sputtered in surprise. "There, feeling better?"

"You know, when you warn me more of it makes it down on throat rather than my shirt," he retorted, wiping his mouth on his sleeves. "Thanks, though."

"You two!" snapped the cat girl, motioning to Carrie and Carlton who were waiting at the edges of the field. "It's safe now! Get these two inside, quick! They've gotta recharge so they can take care of your other buddies."

"Coming!"

"Just take it easy," she told Landon, giving him a wink. "We'll get you and Alyse all ready to do it again in just a few hours."

He nodded, letting her help him to his feet as Carlton came and helped support him from his other side. "That took a lot more than I thought...but the fields are done. No more left there."

"That's very impressive," stated Carlton, his skin slightly paler than usual as he calculated the amount of power that would be needed to rid them of such a large unmagic pooling. "Thank you. Now the land may heal."

"You can thank me by letting me sleep," replied the young man as his eyes already began to droop as they passed the threshold into the house itself. "Good lord...never been so tired in my life..."

"Sleep then," advised Revlis as they settled him upright on a couch, Alyse making it in a moment with Carrie's help to sit next to him and accept the blanket they passed her to her. "Don't worry, things can wait until you wake again."

He smiled as his eyes closed the rest of the way, flying away on the wings of sleep. "Oh, I won't..."

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Chapter 20, folks. And up in record time compared to last time. Well, thank you for those of you that did review, and please review again as I am taking time out of a stuffed schedule to do this for you. Much love as always, and hoping to have more up for you soon. Oh, and if you noticed that the students were only in section this time, well, I didn't realize that I hadn't put anything in for them until close to the end, so...they were just partying the whole time. Simple as that. Yeah, sorry about that!

crosseyedbutterfly


	21. 

And we're back with chapter 21 of Summersea Saga, folks! The reviews are slowly trickling in again, and thank you for those who took the time to read your way through all 28-34 pages of the chapter, much appreciated as always. Guess I won't bore you too much with my rather random talk so here, my friends, is chapter 21:

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Ben scurried around with the other servants, scrubbing and cleaning like their lives depended on it (and with the guards stalking around restlessly it probably did) they had the entire mansion and grounds sparkling within hours. Clearing away any traces of their presence at all, the Master had the few, like Ben, who performed special duties clean themselves up and put their uniforms on and line up in the main hall for an inspection.

"We're going to have special guests in," explained their taskmaster, the Mistress of the usual household affairs that in general had little dealings with the likes of them. "And if something is not done right...you shall not enjoy the consequences!" Given the way she snapped the charcoal stick she was holding in two, they were inclined to believe her. Listening obediently as she rapped out her orders, they then hurried off to their posts straightening their collars and hose as they went.

Ben took up his flute and began to run a few scales on it, making sure he was well warmed up before the Master arrived. Outside the main hall he could hear carriages rolling up, others running out and shouting orders and several sets of footsteps were ushered towards him. Beginning to play the moment the double doors opened, the young musician stuck to the soft melodies of wandering shire songs and keeping his volume low enough to be pleasantly unnoticed. And unless he was told otherwise, that would be his hob for the next how ever many hours the Master and his guests decided to dine until he was dismissed.

Observing the newcomers, he understood now why the cook and others had been more than happy to more than happy to let others be the ones to personally deal with these strangers. They were not the types that looked likely to forgive a mistake or the slightest misstep. Dressed completely in dark, somber colors, their robes were sparse and trimly made, wasting no more material than necessary. They were not cheap, though, and he would guess the fabric of their outer layer alone was a gold maja a yard it was so richly woven. Men with such wealth and a strange way of displaying it, his curiosity was piqued but not enough by any means to venture a guess as to who they might be. Usually he might go and inquire with the stable men as to what their luggage contained (as they were prone to usually take an inquiring peak) but he doubted anyone would dare even tough these guests' bags unless ordered to. He certainly wouldn't.

"Something more lively, Ben," ordered his lord, giving a false laugh as he did. "You will put us all to sleep otherwise." Glancing about nervously, he only got a sour smile from one of his companions and blank looks from the rest.

"Yes, milord," he replied immediately, keeping his voice low and level with nothing but the utmost respect. He wasn't sure of these guests would punish any of their hosts servants should they find them inattentive, but he wasn't about to find out. Moving on to the same country-style pieces, he ran through some of the lighter reels and dance tunes that he could remember from his times traveling with his sister. Feeling his heart tighten slightly at the thought of her, he buckled down on it and continued to play. He could float among his memories later, right now was not the time for it.

Further observation of the dark guests revealed nothing more than nothing seemed to please them and none of the servants were comfortable in their presence. Hours of mumbled talk and sore fingers later, the musician was finally released and hurried off to his quarters where he was surrounded by those few curious servants who hadn't had a chance to see the new visitors yet and hadn't seen them before.

"Stay away from them," he advised them seriously. "They look like nothing but trouble."

If only he knew how right he was to be.

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Jon stumbled back into his house late that night, surprised to find Briteyes still awake and sitting by the fire playing her lute.

"You're still awake," he said in surprise.

"Putting the final touches on the 'spell', sort of like a ward to keep people away." She shrugged, continued to play the same patterns over and over as if weaving something. "It's mainly minor cords, just giving them an automatic feeling that the house is empty and not worth looking into."

He nodded, kicking his boots off and pouring himself a mug of coffee from the pot still on the fire. "When will you finish it?"

She smirked. "I was able to close up the final hole when you walked in."

"Oh..."

"You're late," she commented, though there was no anger in her voice.

"Had a lot of students to visit and cancel classes for," he replied with a shrug.

"Did you eat anything while you were out there?"

He shrugged, thinking back over the evening. "Had dinner with the Baker family."

She nodded. "What did you drink?"

"Some sort of juice, a mug of ale before I left...maybe...I dunno, I'm tired, so I'm gonna go to bed..." He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up as he headed for the ladder.

"That's fine, I'll be down here if you need me."

"There are other beds upstairs," he reminded her, a little confused. "Kristen or Cam wouldn't mind at least, and you wouldn't be on the floor..."

"I also wouldn't be by the fire," she reminded him with a shrug. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"I won't."

She laughed dryly, putting down her instrument as she prepared her bed for the night. Dressed in borrowed clothes (it always seemed to be raining when she arrived...) she curled up under her blankets and drifted asleep slowly to the dancing flame-shadows of the fire.

The next morning came far too soon, though, and while she lingered on her mat far longer than usual it was not that late when she finally crawled out of bed and put on a pot for coffee for breakfast. Toasting bread and frying some bacon, which she'd been craving for weeks, it wasn't until after she'd finished eating and cleaned up after herself that she wondered where her housemate was. Climbing up the ladder, she brought a cup of coffee with her out of courtesy and pounded on Jon's closed door and got a grumble in reply.

"Are you awake?" she called, an amused note in her voice.

"Yeah...I think...hey, can you come in here a sec?" His voice was muffled by the door, and she had to strain to hear it.

"Why?"

He hesitated, uncertainty showing in his voice. "Well...I think I'm seein' things."

"Ok..." She eased the door open, finding Jon sitting on the side of his bed staring at his arms which were now covered in blue-colored rashes. "What the...?!"

"This isn't normal, is it?" he asked, frowning as he did.

"No," she replied with a shake of her head. "Jon...you caught the plague."

"Oh...crap."

"What else did you drink yesterday??" she asked quickly, putting the mug in his hands before backing away again.

"Just what I had at the Baker house...and a sip from one of the water fountains in town, but those are supposed to be purified..."

"Idiot, this isn't some normal disease!" she leaned against the doorframe, all most at a loss for what to do even though she could already see his skin beginning to flush with the fever and the spots seemed to grow before her very eyes. "Look, just...stay here. I'll bring you some food and something else to drink. We're going to need hydrate you as much as possible."

"Amanda...how do people die from this?"

She paused, then answered. "The fever. It dries them out from the inside. It's magically induced, so willow bark tea won't help much at all."

"Oh..." Closing the door behind herself, she sighed. This was happening a lot sooner than she thought it might, and she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to hanle it either. It was going to be an interesting ride, that much was for sure...

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"I still think we should stay around Summersea some," argued Randy as they continued to head north.

"Yeah, only because you're a wussy who doesn't like the cold," Olivia snorted mockingly. "Cold-blooded freak..."

"Hey, I'm not the ice-mage, alright? It's not my fault my body doesn't automatically adjust to the temperature around me!"

"We agreed to go north because Olivia is the only one that's never gotten formal training from a mage in her particular area," broke in Bryanna, rolling her eyes as she did. "I've been around healers, you've been around illusionists, but we've never found another ice mage as our teacher. So where would one find an ice mage teacher?"

Randy grumbled under his breath. "Where there's ice."

"And where do we find ice?"

"In the north, where it's friggin COLD."

"Exactly, so we're going north to find her a fellow ice mage."

"We'd better be staying some place that's got a good heating system, then," he muttered with a sigh.

"This early in the summer, I don't think it's going to be cold," pointed out Olivia dryly. "At least I'm not asking you to go in the dead of winter."

"Yes, I would have serious objects to that myself," added in Bryanna with a nod. "But in the summer, at least it'll be warm enough not to wear coats in the day time."

"And let me guess, for them that's shorts and tee-shirts weather, right?"

"Right on, my friend."

"It's like those strange folks in Chicago," went on Olivia, allowing herself to ramble for once. "The moment the snow's gone and the thermometer hits 70, BOOM they're outside in bathing suits on towels trying to get some sun because they don't know if it'll get any warmer half the time!"

"Ever been up there in the summer?" asked Randy curiously.

"Once, yeah, on a family trip. It wasn't cold, really, just you couldn't wear shorts every day. If it was overcast you'd probably be better off in pants, because if the sun wasn't shinning it wasn't very warm."

"Whatever."

"Besides, I have a feeling we don't want to be in Summersea anyways," went on Olivia with a shrug.

Bryanna gave her an odd look. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, you know I read the books once, right? Like, a LONG time ago."

"I think you might have mentioned that once..."

"Yeah, so, I can't remember anything that happened, really, just occasional flashes, but still...we are not gonna wanna be around. That's all I know."

"...ok then."

And they continued to ride north.

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Alyse stood in the kitchen helping Kaitlin and Carrie fix something for lunch, Landon out in the main room with the rest ridding the last two, Rupal and Cheeks, of their unmagic taint.

Their resident accountant being next, she put her hand palm down on the table and looked away as Landon took a small knife, similar to a scalpel, and wincing as much as his patient was as he scratched the symbol for purity into the back of her hand. Holding her wrist firmly so she couldn't squirm away, Landon then took the blood that welled up and with his forefinger dotted around the symbol twelve times and with a final dot in the very center of it all pushed a hint of his power through her body.

The iridescent flame raced along her veins, easily decimating the few dark patches here and there as it went. Once through and he was finished, letting her go with a sigh. "I hope that didn't hurt too much," he said apologetically, getting a weak smile back.

"Yeah, you're just doing what has to be done," she replied as Libby took her hand and washed away the blood, putting a thin layer of salve over the scratched symbol before wrapping it up with a few strips of fresh linen. "It's more important to get rid of this 'taint' now that later."

"If you waited too long, there wouldn't be a later," replied Alyse as she entered the room, a tray balanced on each hand.

"Why is that?" asked Cheeks as he moved over to be next, pushing up his sleeve so it wouldn't get in the way. "You cleared the fields without doing any damage that I can see to the plants."

"That's because plants don't have souls," explained Revlis from her spot across the table, currently engaged in doing some re-lacing on her leather vest. Seeing Carlton open his mouth, she hurried on. "Yes, they have a 'life-force' like us, they aren't just 'things' like a piece of dirt or a crystal, but they don't have a soul. When unmagic feeds on you, it firs sucks all the life out of your flesh, your 'physical self' before it begins to suck the life and sanity out of your mind. That's why most unmagic mages are addicted to some sort of drug, which helps them control the onset of insanity longer than most. Once you've reached that stage, where it's permeated your very mind, there's nothing you can do...only by completely destroying ALL of it including the mind, flesh, and soul can you rid yourself of the unmagic as well."

"Which is why we can't show any mercy with those types of mages," went on Alyse quietly. "It's not a pretty job, not at all, but someone's got to do it I suppose."

"That's enough about our grisly job," put in Landon as he finished with Cheeks, washing his hands in the water provided thoroughly. "Alyse said we could afford to stay for today at the most, and we have a lot of time left, so... Tell us about this farm, it looked like things were going really well before whatever it is that happened to it. How'd you guys end up in a job like this?"

Everyone looked to Brenna, who shrugged and started to tell their tale. "Ok, we found ourselves in a field not too far from here..."

"Don't forget to tell them about you thinking you were back in Tortal!" put in Libby suddenly with a smile. Getting a glare in return, she just giggled. "You were being so silly..."

"Hey, I'm the one telling the story here! Anyways, so, it was about two years ago, actually two years exactly this summer, that we were pulled into Summer sea and found ourselves in a field just across the way from here..."

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Brenna sat with Carlton in the middle of one of the fields the day after Alyse, Landon, and Revlis had made their exit, following his movements through the fields as he 'showed her' the difference between the plants she wished to grow and those that she didn't, those that were harmful and harmless, and the difference between healthy and unhealthy plant growth on the ones she did want.

Taking everything in that was presented to her little by little, they eventually decided to call it quits for the day she opened her eyes to find her instructor looking at her quizzically in their domed circle of protection.

"What?" she asked as she brushed her curly brown hair from her eyes, standing as she did.

"Nothing," he replied, looking down as he did. "You have just improved faster than my sister predicted, is all."

"Does she usually predict right?"

Carlton snorted wryly. "She's never wrong. However, since we're done, you need to go help your friend prepare the fields for the planting."

"Cheeks? He's a strong fellow, he can take care of it him..." Brenna sighed when she caught the flat look her instructor gave her. "Alright, alright, I'm going..."

"Take this and clear the roots and rocks behind him as he plows," instructed the senior plant mage as he tossed her a sack, before heading towards the house. "I'll be cleaning out the garden between the house and barn so we get some use of it this season."

"Was it part of the area cleaned out?"

"Of course." Carlton fixed her with a serious look. "If your friends left a trace of unmagic behind, especially in a place once so heavily tainted, it would be of the greatest betrayal to their oaths as unmagic hunters as well as to your friendship."

"Oh...ok..." Brenna shook her head as if to clear such thoughts away and she headed towards the fields. "I was just wondering, really..."

"Get going, we only have an hour or so more before the light will no longer be favorable for our work."

"Yes, sir." She walked out to the lone figure in the distance, the sack slung over her shoulder as she started at the far edge of the field and began to pick up the large rocks she found in the plowed rows as she walked. Depositing them in the sack on her back, she dumped it out at the end of each row when it became full, making sure to place them far enough away where they wouldn't get in the way. Catching up to Cheeks within a half an hour or so, she paused and sat next to him as he was taking a quick break in the shadow of the oxen. "Having fun?"

"Loads." He rolled his eyes, rubbing the sweat from his forehead.

"Having any trouble breathing?" she asked, taking a small swallow from her water bottle.

"Nope, not since they did the purifying thing." He held up the back of his hand, the mark still visible though it had scabbed over almost instantly. "It felt weird when they did that, you know? Like they were taking away parts of me, but it was parts I didn't mind having taken from me because I didn't realize they were there in the first place."

"Whatever it was they did, it was a good thing," replied Brenna with a shrug. "Come on, Carlton is looking this way and I'd rather not make him walk over here and tell us get moving again."

"It's a rough pace, but it's for the good of the farm," he sighed as he stood, dusting off his pants. "I already plowed the field there to the right, so you might want to get to de-rocking that one."

"De-rocking?" Brenna raised one brow slightly. "Right..."

"What? It's easier that saying 'get to picking up all the stones'. See? That's six more words than I used in the first one, which only used one."

"One word that's made up."

"Nothing wrong with that!"

"Uh huh, sure..."

Cheeks just clucked to the oxen, driving them into moving again and pulling the plow along behind. They had too much work to be arguing, not until the farm was back on its feet again.

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"Hey...isn't that the same guy from the last port?" Gwen tilted her head to the side, staring at the sea man dressed strangely in mostly dark colors while Jenny ignored her and continued to barter with a baker for the bread and flour they needed. "Jenny, look...he's...oh, now he got away!"

"There's lots of ships that travel similar paths to our own," said the Captain tersely as she sealed the trade with the man. "It's not strange to see the same people in the last port you were in."

"No, but he was following us last time!"

"Gwen..." Jenny's voice held a note of exasperation, the younger girl frowning.

"No, I swear! He kept following me and Trevor around whenever we went somewhere selling something!"

"You're imagining things."

"Am not!"

"You are so...thank you, sir. My men will be back with this contract later this evening." Jenny flashed the signed paper once more before slipping it into her inner vest pocket. "Come on, let's get back to the ship."

"But, I...he..."

"Enough, Gwen! There's no body following us, ok??"

"...alright."

Still, something strange was happening that the crew didn't specifically notice until they hit the third port in a series of short jumps with their destinations being only two or three days apart at most. They began to encounter less and less ships on the open seas or in the harbors themselves, and though it was still early in the season for ships to be traveling a great deal unless they had a wind mage on board it was strange for their sightings to grow fewer at the same time.

At their fourth port, Gwen began to refuse to go on shore, claiming to see the same people tailing them over and over again. Jenny, as Captain, claimed she was imagining things again and believed so herself until they reached the fifth port on their list. It was their second day there, and if things went well their last one as well.

She was on shore again; helping Tanner sift through the rope the local maker was selling to help replace some of their own, when she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye. Turning slowly she saw the same dark-clothed man Gwen had been pointing at just a few ports before walking past, his gaze centered somewhere in the distance though she got the feeling he still knew she was there just the same. Shaking off the shivers that wished to run down her spine, the Captain put it out of her mind until she got back to the ship, letting them load everything before she gave orders to cast off immediately.

"Skip the next port," she ordered quietly as they pulled out to sea, Trevor at the helm. "Go to the next one on the list."

"Why?" he replied, frowning as he looked over the map beside him tacked to the railing. "We need that one for fresh meat..."

"Skip it, I want to test something." She looked it over herself. "We'll go back if I'm wrong, we can afford it. Just do it, ok?"

"Alright, Captain..."

Jenny didn't sleep much the next few days, and insisted they remain far out at sea when they passed the next town. Confused, her crew obeyed, a little worried about her sanity as she stood at the bow of the ship for hours before their arrival as if waiting for something.

Gwen joined as they pulled into the harbor, scanning for something just as her Captain was. Jenny was just about to turn away in relief as they moored the ship when something caught her eye, and she froze as the sight of the same sea man standing on the dock as if waiting for something came into view.

"Do you believe me now?" asked Gwen as she shrank back, crossing her arms almost protectively over her chest.

"Yes," replied Jenny quietly, going white as she felt her heart begin to race. "I believe you."

"What are we gonna do about it?"

"I don't know..."

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Briteyes sat with her back to the wall on a cushion messing around on her lute, Jon lying in his bed across from her slowly eating some soup with the blue spots showing prominently against his pale skin. His fever and rattling hack were growing, and both knew there was nothing either could do to stop it without getting help from the outside and possibly revealing their unexplainable immortality.

"Hey...Amanda?"

"Yeah?" She looked up, not bothering to correct him for once as she continued to tune her lute.

"What's it like when you die?" He gave a short laugh after he'd spoken, setting his soup bowl aside as he sat with his back against the wall facing her and sipping more water slowly straight from the ladle. "It feels strange, asking you that question. You're alive, I can see you and hear you...but you've died already. Just strange to think about, you know?"

"I know," she sighed as she began to play, just running through some scales as she did. "You have no idea how weird it is knowing I can answer that. Death...I always thought of it as being so final, so...unbeatable. And in a way it is, if not for our 'connection' thingy with three worlds we'd never be able to come back like we do. But...it's still strange."

"That's all very nice," he replied, laying his head back wearily. "But not what I asked." He paused as he began to cough, face turning red before he was able to regain control of himself again. "What's it like?"

"I...don't remember how I died the first time," she admitted with a shrug as she paused in her playing thoughtfully. "It's a little odd to think I did and not knowing how, but it had to be pretty painful. Real bloody and all, it left me with a lot of scars and I can remember recuperating a little. I remember...floating. And then speaking with the guy who brought us in here, I think his name starts with a 'D' or something like that."

"Where do you talk at?" Jon dropped the ladle back into the bucket unnoticed, the water he never finished mixing in with the rest.

"I guess it's their work shop...something like that..." She strummed through a few chords. "It's nice there. Peaceful-like, I think."

"And then?" His eyes were drooping now, slumping over as the fever and his combined weariness began to take a hold of himself.

"And then...I woke up. It was like coming out of a deep sleep."

"A deep...sleep...?" He laid down, curling up on his side as he did pulling the blanket over himself.

"Yeah." She rose silently to her feet as she set her lute aside, crossing the room to collect the bowl and pick up the ladle to take a quick sip. He'd promised to use only his cup, so it should still be safe for the moment. Glancing back at her companion once more, she made sure he was sound asleep before heading downstairs to get some food for herself and catch a few hours of rest. His condition, without the attendance of a healer, would soon start to decline. Something she was not looking forward too in the least.

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Kristen sat outside the Inn they were currently residing in, looking over the letter she'd received from the local school of the combative arts just a few towns away. Though her eyes were focused on the script, her mind obviously wasn't and Cam had to call her name a few times before the young woman would finally look at him.

"Huh?"

"You alright?" he asked, sliding her the tea she'd ordered and sitting down next to her with his own mug of lemonade. "You've been zoned out all day."

"Yeah...just thinking."

"About Brite and Jon," put in Chris as he sat across from them, carrying a mug of lemonade himself. "They're gonna be fine, you know. We just have to wait here until the danger passes, and then go home and things will go back to the way they were before. Minus several townsfolk, maybe, but not that much different for us in all."

"I know, it's just not fair..." She took a sip of her tea, shrugging deeper into her cloak. It was still a little too nippy to be outside eating at this time in the evening, but it was too crowded inside and she didn't feel like climbing to their room upstairs just quite yet.

"They can't die, so they stay and weather out the plague," said Cam with a shrug. "It makes sense to me."

"And you're not worried about them one bit?" replied Kristen. "Cam, that's your cousin back there!"

"And she'll still be my cousin when we return and find them both alive," he stated firmly, trust obvious in his voice. "Amanda said everything's gonna be ok, and therefore it is."

Kristen sat her tea back down, disbelief written across her face. "And you'll just accept it at that? That there's nothing you can do and you might as well just take what you can?"

"Yeah, pretty much." He nodded, drinking down his lemonade while sitting back calmly.

She shook her head, looking away as she did. "You're too trusting, kid."

"No, I trust her just enough. Maybe you're not being trusting enough."

Kristen gave a short laugh. "Yeah, maybe."

Mike and Matt came up to their table, a bit of paper between them that they scribbled on occasionally as they spoke in low voices.

"What's that?" asked Chris after a moment, managing to get it out of their hands and seeing just a ton of numbers jumbled together. "What the heck..."

"It's odds," explained Matt elusively.

"Odds for what? Some race or something?"

"No, not quite..."

"Odds on whether or not we come to find little Jons or Mandas running around," explained Mike, earning himself a smack on the side of the head. "Ow! Alright, it's odds on who will lose how many students..."

"I'll be upstairs if anyone needs me," said Kristen as she abruptly rose, heading for the stairs.

"What, scared of what you might find out?" Mike called after her tauntingly.

"Excuse me if knowing how many people I know might die as interesting." The door slammed shut, leaving the rest of them outside in the cold.

Mike clucked his tongue as Matt went back to his calculations, Chris and Cam sliding off to the side a little to talk between the two of them. "Temper, temper."

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Olivia sat between Bryanna and Randy, enjoying the ale they'd been served greatly.

"Hey, shouldn't you take it easy on that?" suggested their lone counterpart as she drank it to the bottom. "I thought you were the responsible one here!"

"No, that's me," broke in Bryanna with a smirk.

"You're not responsible because you can drink down as much ale as you want like water and just burn in out of your bloodstream with a flicker of your magic," grumbled Randy as he bent over his own ale, his first one as he had no wish for a hang over the next morning. "That's just plain lucky."

"One of the Masters there actually suggested something after I complained about loosing control when...intoxicated," put in Olivia thoughtfully as she tapped the table with the tips of her fingers. "He said there was some friend of his in the North that, when he drank too much, he would freeze the alcohol in his stomach enough that it would only partially affect him and then the rest would melt off slowly and given him a fairly constant high for the rest of the evening without hitting him too hard. Besides, so long as I keep my body temperature lower than usual it can't do much to me."

"Yeah...and I get stuck with light." Randy snorted, swirling the amber liquid in his mug as he leaned over it. "Yeah, sure, I can make a room bright if there's no candles or lamps, but what the heck does it do for me when I've got a hang over? Nothing! And the one person who can help me is too stubborn to..." He shot a look in Bryanna's direction, which she pointedly ignored.

"Just enjoy your drink," said Olivia, rolling her eyes as she leaned back against the wall behind them. "It's a good ale for being homemade, and we're not likely to be staying at places this nice all the time."

"Why not, we can afford it can't we?"

"Well, yes." Olivia shrugged, taking another sip of her drink and enjoying it as the strong liquid burned a trail down her throat. "But there may not be a place like this to stay as we get up in that in between area from the boarders of Duke Verdis's lands and the kingdom surrounding the Syth to the north."

"Oh, I never thought of that..."

"No, you just don't think period," put in Bryanna with a laugh. "Not that that's a bad thing, it makes me laugh most of the time. When it doesn't involve burning my things, that is."

"Gee, thanks..." Randy chugged the rest of his ale, deciding to abandon his hope for control that night and signaling for another.

Bryanna fixed her sweetest, most deceptive smile. "You're most welcome."

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Heading out at a steady walk, the trio of unmagic fighters talked quietly back and forth as they gave their horses a little bit of a break with the slow pace. Unsure of where to go now, except that they were to be moving, they simply followed the road and at every crossroads flipped a coin to determine which way they would head next.

"You know, we've been going now for over a year," commented Landon out of the blue, hunching over his saddle with a brooding look on his face. "A year's a pretty long time, isn't it?"

"I'd say so," replied Alyse, wondering where he was going with it. "Yeah, a lot can happen in a year's time."

Landon went on, brow furrowing as he did. "And we've had a fair amount happen to us, yes?"

"Yeah, so?" She leaned over in her saddle, poking Revlis who was close to asleep where she sat. "Hey, strap yourself in at least if you're gonna do that."

"Huh? Wha....oh. Ok." The cat girl took the straps on either side of her saddle and quickly had herself secured in place so she wouldn't fall out of her seat while napping. "Thanks..."

"No problem. Anyways." She turned back to Landon with a nod. "Go on, what about a lot happening to us?"

"Well, I mean, I know only so much can happen in a year, but..." He trailed off, rubbing his chin as he did. "I dunno, maybe I just feel like this last year's been nothing but a waste..."

"Because we only found two groups," Alyse finished for him with an understanding nod. "You want to get back home."

"I miss my family," he replied slowly. "And when I do get back, I have to wait a whole year more to see them when I return from America."

"It hasn't been a waste, though," pointed out Alyse carefully. "We've done a good job with our day job, and our side job of finding the others isn't hopeless either. Two groups in the first year, that's far better than Libby and Artman did their first time through."

"They were the mages, then? The ones sent to find everyone? How long did it take them to find someone?"

"Yes, and..." Alyse thought about it, unsure in her mind as she tried to sort out all the things that had happened in that time. "I'm pretty sure it was more than two years. I could be wrong, but from what I recall they were the last to meet up with anyone at all."

"You mean the other groups found each other," replied Landon, sounding rather droll. "Before they every found someone else?"

She nodded. "Pretty much...yeah."

"Wow...that 'Guardian' person-thingy had a real sense of humor, didn't she?"

"Trystan?" Alyse laughed, a bit dryly. "Yeah, something like that...I gotta say, she really messed with us a couple of times."

"On purpose?"

"Who knows, you can never tell with those semi-spirit type beings. Anyways, we've found, including ourselves, 10 of the 24. That's almost 50, and only in a years time." She shrugged, settling back in her saddle as she took the reins from Revlis's limp hands so her horse wouldn't go off the road. "Well...maybe closer to 40, but not bad if I do say so myself."

"How many more years do you think we've got?" ventured her companion uneasily. "One? Five? Twenty?"

"We won't know until it's over," she replied with a shrug, knowing the unease he was likely feeling with that uncertainty and sharing in it herself. "It's all up to our Guide, and the whims of his world."

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Brenna was outside pulling up the weeds that had overtaken the flower beds in the front just a few hours before sunset when a lone wagon came into view, pulled by two nearly-dead looking donkeys with a worn old man clucking the team along. Spotting the farm, his face brightened considerably and he called behind himself to whoever else was with in inside the covered structure.

Rising and dusting off her pants, the farmer woman straightened her wrinkled work-clothes as they pulled up in front of her, the old farmer slowly climbing down as she approached them cautiously.

"Excuse me," she said as she stopped a few yards away. "Something I can help you with?"

"We were just wondering if we might stay on your property for the night," he explained, wringing his hands a bit nervously as he did. "You see, we haven't the money to stay within the town limits without paying the fine and it's a dangerous road for folks to be out on all alone at night."

"Brenna, have you finished- oh. Excuse me, I didn't realize we had company." Carlton continued to walk towards them, though he'd changed from assertive to polite in a moment. "Good evening, sir. What brings you to this farm this evening?"

"They've asked to stay on the property for the night since they couldn't afford to stay in the town," explained Brenna quickly so only Carlton could hear, seeing a young woman likely in her thirties poke her head out of the wagon along with two little boys. "I really don't have a problem with it, but I'll have to ask the rest..."

"It's a fine farm the two of you have," said the old man quickly. "We promise, just let us make use of your well and light and fire and we'll be fine for the evening."

"It's not my farm," replied Carlton quickly. "I'm just a helper here for the moment."

"I'll go and make sure it's alright with the others," added Brenna as she turned around quickly. "Be back in just a moment!"

"Oh, thank you very much!"

She pushed open the front door, finding Kaitlin in the kitchen as usual with Libby sitting at the table tending to Pinky who had somehow scratched her poor little paw and Rupal nearby working through the account books.

"Hey, we've got some people who want to stay on the farm for the night," she said with a jerk of her thumb. "Is it ok with you guys?"

"I don't have to feed them, do I?" replied Kaitlin as she paused in her work momentarily.

"No, they said they just want a safe place to have a fire and to use our well," replied Brenna quickly. "So?"

"I don't care," replied Rupal, never looking up from the heavy volume currently in front of her.

"Neither do I, so long as I don't have to feed them," added Kaitlin quickly.

"Lemme come out and see," said Libby as she stood, following Brenna back outside where the old man and young woman now stood with the two little boys beside them. "Aww...they're so cute!"

"You can stay," said Brenna with a nod as she motioned over towards the well. "Go head, you can stay right over there next to the well, and if you need them the privies are in the back. Your fire, so long as its not in the tall grass or the fields, you're welcome to put near your wagon, and we have a few extra stalls in the barn so your beasts can stay there the night if you want."

"Thank you so very much!" cried the old man, bowing over and over again as he humbly expressed his thanks. "May Mila rain blessings upon your wondrous and fertile fields, miss!"

"Thank you," she replied with a quick nod. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my work and I'm sure my friends do as well..."

"Bunny!"

Everyone looked over at the cart, a young girl sticking her head out of the front pointing at the fuzzy creature in Libby's arms.

"Toni!" The young woman bustled back quickly, blocking the child from sight as she tried to pull her back into the woman. "Now, we told you, you must stay in bed or you won't get better..."

"Is she sick?" asked Libby, frowning as she did.

"Just a slight chill, from staying out too late the night before," replied the grandfather, shaking his hands as if to dispel any possible suspicion from himself. "Truly, nothing serious, it's just best if she rests right now."

"Oh...well, if that's the case she can see the bunny if she really wants to," offered Libby, coming forwards a few steps. "Pinky likes making people happy, isn't that right sweety? Yes it is! You're just the cutest bunny in the whole world..."

"Bunny wabbit!!" The little girl stretched her hands out, the mother watching on with an obvious mix of worry and fear though none were sure why. Libby let her pet Pinky a few times before pulling away with a smile. "Bye bye, bunny wabbit!"

Libby waved Pinky's paw back. "He says goodbye back! Come on, Pinky, time to go feed you and your family..." She headed inside, Brenna having a few more words with the family before heading inside. "That woman doesn't take very good care of her children," commented Libby as her friend sat beside her, currently occupied with chopping up some early vegetables for her bunnies. "If there was such a thing as Child Services here I'd call them on her!"

"Why's that?"

"The little girl had blue spots on her arms," explained Libby seriously. "Like bruises or something. Maybe it's the old man, who beats'em when he gets drunk and she's just trying to protect him."

"Maybe..." Brenna paused, running that through her head a few times and unable to pin down what it was that struck her as odd other than it was a horrible, horrible thing and they really weren't in a position to intercede. "Oh well. It could just be that her brothers got too rough playing with her."

"Yeah, but a good mom wouldn't let that happen."

"I guess so..."

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"What do you mean you won't go on shore?!"

Jenny stood before the majority of her crew, Tanner, Trevor and Tyler helplessly off to one side and unable to deter their determined friends and family members.

"We won't," said one of the young men simply, looking pale beneath his dark skin. "All of us have seen them now, the shadow-stalkers that follow us from port to port no matter where we go! You cannot deny their presence; you acknowledged them as following us mysteriously days ago."

"Yes, there is someone following us," admitted Jenny with a shrug. "And they are a little creepy looking. But they haven't done anything other than follow us as of yet, and if they haven't made a move by now I would think that they aren't going to at all!"

"But you don't know that for sure!" another piped up in the back.

"Talia, what about you?" called out Jenny, seeing her in the crowds with the rest of the dissenters. "Are you going along with this foolish notion as well? That it's unsafe to set foot off my ship?"

"Yeah," added Talia, though it was obvious she didn't wish to speak but felt she had to. "You're a good Captain, and we respect you for that. You've never led us wrong, and never have we had a loss in our entire time as your crew. But...this is a risk we just fell that can't take. Not with the circumstances that we've been presented with thus far. You can do whatever you like, cast us from the ship, put us all in the brig for insubordination, but we will not as members of your crew willingly set foot off this ship until the shadow-stalkers are gone."

"Cowards," muttered Jack from where he stood behind Jenny. "I would cast you off this ship myself, were your Captain not stopping me."

"I'd like to come and see you try!" said a voice in the back, the First Mate jumping up the moment it was heard angrily.

"Come out and say that to my face!" he demanded, the crew trading knowing smiles as no one said a word. "Too scared, huh? Guess that just proves my point! I don't see why we've kept half you this long anyways, you're just a bunch of lazy, weak-minded, useless lumps of-"

"That'll be quite enough," cut in Jenny, giving him a glance that silenced him effectively enough. "Everyone who won't go off the ship is on repair duty, then. And with as many of you as there are, I don't want even a splinter out of place when we leave this port on my ship. If that's go, get below deck and get to work. Everyone else stay here."

The group was, of course, just herself, Jack, Nicole, Tyler, Trevor and Tanner.

"Gwen went with them," said the nymph as she landed on Jenny's shoulder.

"I knew she would," replied the Captain flatly. "She said as much the first time she figured out they were following us."

"Six isn't bad," said Tyler as he hopped off the railing, standing there respectfully with his arms at his sides. "You never assign too many more to that to go off shore anyways."

"Five," corrected Jenny with a shrug. "As much as you're useful, Nicole, you're not much help on shore."

"Yeah, yeah...I'll be below deck, then, if you need me," she said, floating off towards the hatch with a shrug. Repairs were usually part of her job anyways.

"Who's on accounts duty?" she asked, rubbing her brow.

"That's me," admitted Trevor sheepishly.

"Down to four," coughed Tanner with a shrug.

"Three," corrected Jenny. "No, not even that, only two. Tyler's the only one nimble enough to get up on the masts easily and help inspect and repair things there, and I have to leave one of you two behind as in charge in case anything comes up."

"Well, you two have fun," said Jack, rubbing his hands in anticipation of getting to lord over his underlings once more. "I'll be below whipping those lazy brats into some real work..."

"No, you'll be coming with me," said Jenny firmly, heading towards the gang plank. "Come on, you've got a lot of hauling a head of you. And Tanner? Send me Tyler when you're done with him, Jack might've kicked the bucket by then since he's not used to hard labor and might croak on me."

"No, he won't be needed!" spat the First Mate angrily. "I'll be able to haul anything you throw my way!"

"Good." Jenny smirked to herself. "Let's home you can keep that up with two fifty pound bags of flour over either arm, because the miller and the baker are our first stops."

"What?! Why you..."

As Jack went off on a rant that turned the air blue, Jenny just smiled.

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Briteyes stumbled around the kitchen as she rose from her mat, her head strangely spinning and with a dull ache behind her eyes. Feeling her forehead, she realized she had a fever and wondered if it wasn't just a result from sleeping by a blazing fire all night as she walked into the bathroom, filling the basin and splashing her face with the freezing water. Shivering, she groped blindly for her towel and did a double take in the mirror over it as she finally got a look at her self. There was a blue mark near her hairline on her forehead, and looking down at her hands and arms she saw the same marks covering her skin there as well. Changing her clothes she found more marks, and as she felt her forehead begin to practically radiate heat with a high fever the young woman admitted to herself that which she'd feared since she'd seen the first mark.

"Oh no..."

Leaning against the counter, the performer rested her heavy head on the wall and wondered just what in the world she was going to do. Following the only basic logic she was able to as dazed as she was, she made sure the illusion that the house was empty was still in place before grabbing some bread, the soup she'd thrown together and a blanket before heading towards the ladder.

That was a most interesting experience. She had remained on the bottom floor long enough to regain most of her sense of balance, climbing the ladder in three or four trips to bring up everything they might need before lugging it all to Jon's room and dropping it there. Once in the room she set it all up, leaving the soup by the bed and sitting down next to it in a chair, wrapping the blanket about herself as she felt chills begin to race up and down her spine. Reaching over and drinking straight from the ladle, she felt some of it spill down her chin as she fumbled with it clumsily.

"Looks like this is gonna be a bit rougher than I thought," she murmured, though Jon was still out cold with his fever-flushed face pointed towards the ceiling. Slumping down in the seat, she let her head fall back against the wall behind her even as her eyes began to close again in fatigue. This had gone from bad to worse, and any more so and she wasn't sure she could take it. Praying death would come quickly this time, for in it she could find relief, the young woman let herself completely relax and fall into the twisted and fever tortured realms of her dreams.

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Mike and Matt were having the time of their lives, facing off against the senior students within the fencing division at the school Kristen had written to about letting them stay over there for a few days. They'd been welcomed with open arms, even putting Chris to use in repairing some of their old building's defects and making new practice weapons to replace the ones broken with time.

"Who's next?" offered Matt, smiling genially though inside he was gloating, all puffed up with his overgrown pride. "Come on, I must stay in shape while away from my school!"

"To fight him now would be the kind thing to do, because he won't find anyone else to beat upon when he gets back home," added Mike. "Poor man..."

The students laughed, their teacher nodding in amusement as one of the younger students stepped forwards, ushered by his companions as the easiest scapegoat.

"You challenge me?" asked Matt, raising his brows as he studied the slim young man, if he was even that.

"Yes, sir." The young man lifted his chin slightly. "If I do not frighten you too much, sir."

"Frighten me?" Matt laughed. "C'mon, kid, show me what you got."

"As you wish, sir."

The two stepped back, everyone else filing along the edges of the matted area as they took their positions.

"Ready?" called the Master instructor. "Begin!"

Kristen stood in the next partitioned off area over, watching what appeared to be intently as Cam faced off against some of the other higher hand-to-hand students. As her personal assistant, he was of course expected to be very well trained and the growing young man had made a good showing of himself thus far. Though here eyes were focused on him as he managed to take down a larger, and far older opponent using his speed and resilience to his advantage, her mind was focused on those back home facing the plague by themselves.

"Master Kristen...?"

The young woman looked up, immediately smiling when she noted Cam standing over his fallen opponent. "Well done," she said with a short nod, still a little distracted with her previous thoughts. "Very well done indeed."

"You have trained him very well," offered the Master instructor for the school with an approving nod. "Class dismissed! Remember to practice for the testing begins next time."

"Yes, sir!"

Kristen admired from a fellow teacher's standpoint the way the young people neatly and quietly filed out of the room, taking the mess they'd made with them and leaving the room as spotless as it had been before.

"That was a very educational experience," she told the Master with a nod, putting a hand on Cam's shoulder as she did. "Thank you."

"Of course, you are both welcome to visit anytime," he replied with a smile. "Though, it would have been interesting had you yourself agreed to a match, few of my students have ever met a woman Master of their Arts."

"Perhaps tomorrow," she replied, giving him a thin smile. "I apologize for that, I just not focused today."

"Something I could help you with, perhaps?"

She shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "No, just a family matter back home. Thank you for asking, though. Come, Came, we should go find the others."

"Yes, ma'am!"

And so they walked off, Kristen's mind once again in the clouds.

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"I don't see why we have to leave so early."

Randy huddled down in his saddle, Bryanna looking at him askance from her mount to his right all bundled up in cloaks and warm clothes as Olivia just shook her head on his left. The sun would be rising soon to chase away the frost from the evening before and burn away the fog that settled around the horses' hooves, but it was still be rather chilly out as they were heading farther and farther north with the summer still behind them far in the south.

"Why didn't you put on more clothes if you knew it was going to be cold?" asked the ice mage after a few more moments of his mutterings. "You had plenty of time this morning, we even let you sleep in a little."

"Yes, you woke me at the crack of dawn instead of fifteen minutes before it decides to even start to rise. That's really very generous of you." His words were cold and sharp, though they didn't harm his companions in the least. They were used to it by now. "And I didn't put on more clothes because I thought we weren't leaving until the sun was fully up and over the horizon, like normal travelers do! You said we were going to be taking it easy from where on out."

"Actually, most travelers do leave before the sun is fully up," put in Bryanna knowingly. "It's the best time to cover the most ground, before the sun is high over head and their beasts get tired faster. That, and this cool air's kind of nice, it helps keep me awake and alert."

"Easy for you to say, you've probably got some healer power that lets you warm yourself right on up, right?" he muttered, hunching over once more.

"Actually, no." Bryanna gave him a degrading glance. "Olivia's the only one who's got that covered, ice queen that she is. I'm going to be having to deal with the cold just as much as you are when we finally get up there, so you might as well save you complaining for when it'll really count."

"But I'm freezing..."

"Why don't you let me freeze the blood in your veins," offered Olivia warmly with a hint of ice in her voice. "I bet you'll feel a whole lot warmer then...no charge, either, it's give your friends a discount day."

Randy paled, huddling over himself in his saddle even more as he edged away slightly. "Thanks, but I'll pass..."

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"Wake up, sleepy head..." Alyse opened her eyes to find Revlis bending over her, Landon behind her looking the other way.

"Good grief...how late did I sleep in?" The young woman yawned as she sat up, brushing her tousled black hair out of her eyes.

"Late enough to miss breakfast," replied Landon as he flashed her a quick grin before looking away respectfully again. "Then again, we've been moving along pretty quick these last few days, I'm still tired myself."

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

"You just looked so cute curled up in your blankets..." Revlis poked Alyse in the side, getting a squeak and jump in return. "Anyways, I got a message while you were away in the lands of nod."

"Another mission?"

"Nope, just something I need to take care of. You two are to carry on as planned and keep traveling until you find more unmagic which to rid us all of," explained the cat girl with a brisk shake of her head. "I'll be rejoining you soon, the council said it wouldn't take that long. Maybe two weeks at the most, I would imagine."

"That's not too bad," agreed Alyse, bringing her legs to her chest with an understanding nod. "Alright. You get moving then, the sooner you do the sooner you can get back."

"Aye-aye, Captain!" Revlis gave a mock salute, winking before turning and heading out the door. "Take care you two, and try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone. It's not nice to hog all the fun, you know!"

"I think we can manage that," replied Alyse with a laugh and a wave. Sitting there on her bed, she laughed to herself before she realized Landon was still in the room. "Uh..."

"I'll go find you some breakfast," he said quickly, heading towards the door as well with a blush. "Come on out when you're ready, ok?"

"Ok, thanks!"

"No problem." Closing the door behind himself, the young man disappeared from sight as Alyse climbed out of bed and walked towards her saddle bags on the table. Quickly changing, it was only a few moments before she rejoined him outside at the front of the Inn to be given a cold sausage and cheese biscuit and admire the view before them.

"You know, I don't think we've been this far south before," observed Alyse as she looked out over the ocean waters, seeing only one ship in the distance at bay. "Want to keep traveling along the coast, if only for a little while longer?"

"Sure, we don't have anywhere else to be right now."

"Ok."

And so that's what they did.

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Libby woke two days after the Caravan left, Pinky nudging her worriedly as she wondered why her head hurt and she felt so hot. Forcing herself out of bed, she slowly made her way over to the basin in her room and poured herself some fresh water within which to wash her face. Finishing that, she was about to turn away when something caught her attention in the mirror. Pulling down her collar ever so slightly she saw a blue rash on her neck, reminding her of the time Kaitlin let a certain someone have a little too much access to her neck during prom. Only instead of a brilliant red it was blue, and a little freaky looking.

"What in the world...?"

"Hey, Libby? What is it that...holy cow." Brenna froze in the doorway, the mark clearly in view and everything snapping into place. She put a hand on her friend's forehead, finding her to be warmer than usual. "That girl, did you go see her again before they left??"

"Yeah, she wanted to see Pinky," came the confused reply as Libby let her shirt fall back in place. "She kept hacking all over the place, and then when I gave Pinky a bath later with me to clean it all off I think she made me swallow half the water in that tub she fought me so hard..."

"Libby, her blue marks, did they look like the ones you have now?"

"What, these? Well...sorta. Yeah."

"You have the plague!"

"The what?!" Libby frowned, backing away as she did. "Brenna, are you sure Kaitlin's not doing more of her experiments with breakfast this morning?"

"No! The fever, the marks...Libby, you caught the plague from that little girl."

"But I..."

"Stay here, I have to go get the others out of the house!"

"What, why??"

"They can't catch it from you!"

"Yeah, but what about me?"

"You'll live, remember? They won't!"

"Oh, that's right...hehe, sucks to be them."

"Just stay in bed, ok? I'm going to go get everyone over to the twin's house."

"Alright, I think I can do that..."

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Jenny was absorbed with closing a deal, and so merely brushed Jack's constant pestering aside until they reached the ship. Due to their last few port's worth of him and her doing all the legwork on shore, she'd learned to tune him out rather effectively and often times it was the only thing that saved him from being thrown overboard the moment they got back. However, this time he was unusually persistent and as the gang plank came into view, she paused and gave him an annoyed look.

"What?!"

"They're gone!" he said, waving his hand around as he did. "I've been trying to tell you all day! Why wouldn't you listen? I do have important things to say sometimes, but no...can't bother to lend an ear, now can we?"

"Who's gone?" she replied with a frown. "The ship's right there and I can see Tanner from here...are you sure you haven't been out in the sun too long?"

"The people!"

"People?" She looked around, back away a step as she did. "Jack, there's people everywhere. In fact there's more ships and people here than there have been for the last few ports..."

He smacked himself in the forehead with an exasperated sigh. "No, not those people!"

"Then what people?!" she cried, grabbing him by the collar and giving him a good shake.

"The ones dressed an in the creepy dark colors that appeared everywhere!" he replied harshly, pushing her off and straightening his shirt. "They're gone, and you'd have noticed it too if you were paying any sort of attention at all. Some Captain you make..."

"Excuse me for paying attention more attention to the closing of a good deal that betters the finance of my ship rather than some insignificant detail like who's tailing me today!" she retorted, rolling her eyes. Taking a good look around, though, she had to admit that he was right. Usually one of their followers would show themselves, as if for 'scare value' and to make sure they knew the crew knew they were still there. This time there was...nothing. Just normal sailors, street hawkers and town folks that one found at any average port. "You're right, though. They're gone...for now at least. I wonder where they went off to."

"What does it matter?" replied Jack with a careless shrug. "Come on, let's get back on the ship, dinner's soon."

"Alright..." Jenny followed him, apprehensive for even though it seemed like things had gotten back to normal she had a feeling they'd be seeing those dark figures again sometime far too soon.

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"Having fun?"

Ben looked at the boot that had suddenly left a muddy print in the middle of his work of cleaning the outside front steps. Following it up, he saw Artor standing over him with his usual slight smirk on his face. Ever since his last birthday that spring and he'd started having professional fencing lessons he'd begun to act more and more like the chauvinist pig that his father was. Honestly wondering how any woman could ever find that attractive (as his elder sister had condemned such types many times within his hearing) he stood and nodded respectfully.

"A great deal of fun, sir."

"You don't have to lie," joked Artor, turning more like his boyish self in a blink of an eye, slapping Ben on the back in a friendly manner. "I can get you out of it if you want, make up some bull excuse and then we could slip off for awhile and go riding through the woods."

"No." The servant shook his head, though he smiled at the same time. "It wouldn't be fair, and I don't mind so much really."

"You don't mind doing women's work?" Artor snorted derisively. "One might think you've turned fey if you're enjoying a female's job, Ben. Wouldn't want others to think that, would you?"

"I'm not," he said simply with a shrug. "And you know that too. It does not behoove a master to lie and expect his servants to be honest, sir. If I may be so bold as to say so."

"You can because I find you funny," replied the young man with an easy shrug. "There has to be another reason, though. Who'd get stuck with it if you didn't do it today?"

Ben shrugged, bending down to start work again. "No one, likely, I would just have to do it tomorrow instead."

"Oh...then...why?"

"Why what, sir?"

Artor snorted, knowing Ben was simply playing dumb to get to him and refusing to rise to the bait for once. "Why do you not mind doing such work? Why does working a job as a female should do not bother you?"

"Because it's honest work." Ben stood, motioning for Artor to move back and the young man complying as he poured water over the steps to wash away the soap suds. "Because it keeps me in shape, and keeps me busy during the day. Because it's what I do to get fed and have clothes on my back and a place to sleep at night. Is that a good enough reason?"

"Oh...I guess..."

Ben nodded respectfully, putting the buckets over his shoulders. "If you'll excuse me, sir, I have other work to do now."

"Of course...you may go..."

Ben rolled his eyes as another bit of the boy's father slipped out in him. He was going to be difficult to deal with in a few years, and he hoped he was just out of there by then. If he ever got out, that was.

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_Jon 'woke', finding himself cool and comfortable for the first time in what seemed like awhile. Sitting up, he found himself in a corner of a workshop room just like Amanda had described, a small boy standing by the fire watching him curiously._

"_Well, we've had one die by torture and another by hanging," he commented lightly, as if speaking of the weather. "You're a plague one, right?"_

"_I would guess so," replied Jon, recognizing him from somewhere. "Say, have I...?"_

"_I was the one that greeted you into this world," he replied with a shrug. "Name's Devan, younger sibling of the one you know as Trystan."_

"_Oh...uh...nice to meet you." Jon cautiously walked over, taking a seat on one of the cushions by the fire as the young boy motioned for him to. "So...uh...hi."_

"_Plague seems to be pretty common this time around," went on the young boy with a shrug. "We'll be having multiple visits from cause."_

"_Multiple visits?"_

"_Yeah, the...oh, time's up." Devan clapped his hands again, the room beginning to spin around Jon in a strange manner._

_He tried to clutch onto something, and found himself unable to. "Hey, what's going on?!"_

"_You're going back to your body," replied the mage as his voice began to fade in the background. "You only died from overheating, nothing really that traumatic, so the healing process only took a short while...your companion was not quite so lucky...not the first time...enjoy your stay..."_

"_But I..."_

Jon sat up straight in his bed, blinking as if dazed as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. Realizing that he really was 'home' and back in his own body again, the young man gave a shuddering sigh and leaned back against the wall his bed was set against. Looking around when he was sure things were back to as normal as they ever got in another world, he spotted Briteyes strangely slumped over in the chair next to his bed with a blanket wrapped around herself.

Rising jerkily, and grabbing the wall or the table a few times as his body figured itself out again. He made his way over to her, shaking her shoulder gently and suddenly jumping back when he saw her eyes roll up in her head limply. A quick check revealed no pulse and she wasn't breathing, something that truly creeped him out even more than his own death, and the young man slowly backed up to the bed and numbly drank some water from the pitcher there while watching her the whole time. Half expecting her to suddenly jump up and trying to kill her like in the movies like 'Resident Evil', he waited barely daring to breath for something to happen.

Hours passed, and he fell asleep without realizing it and woke to find the room flooded with light. Briteyes still hadn't moved, but when he glanced over at her he could swear there was more color in her skin and after a quick check he affirmed her heart was beating again and she was breathing. Rising, he headed for the kitchen as his stomach grumbled loudly and he was sure hers would be doing the same shortly.

Whipping up some hot sandwiches and tea, the young man brought it all back upstairs and ate his as he watched her slowly return to their plane of existence.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," he said in a joking manner when she noticed him, getting a small, weary smile in return.

"Thanks," she croaked, reaching first for the tea. "It's good to be back."

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Randy sat huddled under two blankets in the main room of the suit they'd managed to secure for the night, Bryanna already fast asleep in the 'girls' room on the right and Olivia studying some book she'd picked up earlier over at the table.

"It's so cold," he shivered through shaking teeth. "So cold, so cold, so cold...can't ever be warm again."

Olivia didn't reply, just glanced up before turning back to her book intently. Whatever it was, it seemed to be pretty important for the moment.

"It's not fair," he added, talking more or less to himself now as he was used to the girls tuning out his whining about things like this. "I'm a LIGHT mage, not a heat mage. When I make heat, things catch on fire because I can't control it. It's not my forte. And what idiot goes and catches themselves on fire just to keep warm? I may not be bright, but I'm not that stupid!"

Olivia just snorted, and he couldn't tell if it was in reply to what she said or something that she'd found remotely amusing the text. Considering the volume was old as dirt with the leather cover close to rotting and the pages actually crumbling to the touch if one wasn't very, very careful, he doubted it. Angling for pity, and whatever came with it, he went on.

"So, so cold," he said, burrowing under the covers up to his nose and making himself look as pathetic as possible. "The things we guys do for our girls, even going into freezing cold areas that we don't like just to make them happy. Enduring hell for their joy. Going through trial and troubles just so they can have their own way. The problems of being a guy..."

He jumped a little when he heard the book slam shut beside him, a chair sliding back and someone who could only be Olivia rising to their feet. Cringing in the anticipated smack on the side of the head that usually came when he'd poured it on too thick, Randy waited with his eye closed and was a little surprised when not only did the smack never come but there was suddenly a warm presence curling up into his side.

Slowly peaking one eye open, his mouth dropped open slightly when he found Olivia nestled there into his side wrapped in a blanket of her own looking like she was asleep on his shoulder. A little scared, he opened his mouth to speak and was in for another surprise when she nudged his side gently.

"Sleep," she told him shortly, voice muffled by the blanket. "And it's appreciated. Really. But go to sleep."

Dumbfounded, and not one to argue with logic when he was suddenly very warm and comfortable indeed, he just nodded and cuddled back as much as he dared. Quickly falling asleep, neither one moved until a smirking Bryanna prodded them awake the next morning with a very amused look on her face.

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Alyse and Landon carefully made their way along the coast, creeping towards a dormant source of unmagic Alyse had felt from miles off. It was powerful, though currently still rather 'small' in amount and if it existed within a user still rather un-tested and unformed. Wary and cautious, they reached their goal when they happened upon a lone ship docked in a natural harbor by itself and surrounded by less than honorable looking men and women.

"That's them?" asked Landon as Alyse sat there scanning on a well-hidden bluff above the ship and crew.

"Yeah," she replied faintly as she came out of her trance. "They've got someone...no more than a boy, I think. I can't tell much more than that, and I don't want to act if he's just the 'carrier' for something and he can be saved."

"What if he's an adept?"

"We have our orders."

The two sat there silently, Landon pulling out a telescope and looking more closely. After several minutes of observation, he nodded slightly. "A boy," he said firmly. "Can't be more than 11 or 12 years old. Maybe a little older, but he's so starved looking one couldn't tell."

"Why is he sitting funny?" Alyse leaned over a little more, squinting her eyes as she was without the telescope. "It almost looks like...oh no..."

"They cut off his legs," said her companion tightly, swallowing as he did. "And recently, too, maybe within just the last week. They're poorly bandaged, probably infected from carelessness and the filthy conditions they exist in. He'll never walk again, even if he managed to find someone to make him fake legs after some miraculous escape the stumps will be rotted out so much with the way they're treating him..."

"For the love of life..." Alyse closed her mouth tightly, hands clenching into fists as she did. "We strike tonight. I don't care how many of those, those bastards go with him! He's just a kid...I don't want to kill him, but his life will be better because of it. No one deserves that sort of torturous living."

"He's not a 'carrier'," added Landon softly, putting the telescope down slowly as he met her gaze. "There aren't any marks or symbols on him, and he's not wearing any sort of a seal that would make him a container either. He's a 'user'. And it's been pulled out past the point of no return. We have to kill him, or he'll soon be spreading its taint to others as well."

"I understand." Alyse moved back before sitting up, resting against a tree trunk there. "You take first watch, and I'll get what sleep that I can. We'll move in tonight."

Hours passed, first Alyse and then Landon dozing off for short periods of time while the other watched over them until the moon had finally risen to its peak. They finished their preparations and were just about to slide down the rocky face to the camp below when an explosion went off, several dark-masked figures swarming the encampment from all sides and taking the pirates by surprise.

Confused, and unwilling to die without a reason, the pair remained in place and though Alyse tried to fall into a trance they lost track of their unmagic laced boy in the melee and were left with nothing but several dead bodies and a few smoldering fires by the time the confusion had ended and the sun was peaking its head over the horizon. The pirates had lost whatever battle is was that had been induced, and with their ship halfway sunk into the bay, Alyse and Landon left in an attempt to track the unmagic they had found there. Still, it was masked from them, wherever it was, and they were soon back to the same place they'd been before: searching endlessly for that which they were to destroy.

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Libby lay in her bed, sweltering with her fever and gasping for breath as it became increasingly more difficult for her to bring in the oxygen her body required to live. Brenna sat next to her, stroking her hair and wiping her red face constantly with a damp, cool cloth as she murmured to her suffering friend soothingly.

"No more...willow bark tea...?" rasped Libby as she groped for her friend's hand, spasmodically squeezing it as her body occasionally twitched uncontrollably.

"No," replied Brenna, squeezing back gently and shaking her head. "It wouldn't do you that much good, anyways. You just gotta pull through, ok?"

"You know, I watched them hang you," replied her companion, looking past her into the distance with glazed eyes. "I watched you die, too, and I didn't know if you were going to come back. I thought I would never see you again, but I'm not sure which is worse. Knowing that I will likely die, and will come back and possibly have to do something like this over again or that I will die once and never return again to suffer any more."

"I wouldn't know," she admitted feebly, taking the damp cloth off her forehead and replacing it with a fresh one. "I never died and didn't come back. I guess we could've in Tortall, we were in danger a lot of the time I just never really thought about it like that."

"It was more like a game there," went on the weak woman. "Much more like a game. You walk around, you find your companions, you kick butt, and you go home. It wasn't always easy, we got hurt sometimes, and there were times I was scared out of my mind, but it never got this bad. There was never not any food, never a time when I wasn't well-clothed and sheltered. Never a time when I was too sick too even move, or too weak to stand up unless it was from over-drawing my gift. Having been a hero there, and now just a failed farmer here...sometimes, I just want it to end completely."

"You don't have a choice," said Brenna simply. "You'll come back, just like I did."

"But this...it hurts...it hurts so much..." Libby coughed, turning over on her side as she tried not to gag. "I just...I just want it to end...please make it stop..."

"Shh...it'll be over soon, I promise...just, hang in there, ok? Soon, it'll be all over and you won't have to feel like this again..." Brenna paused as her breath caught in her throat, choking back the sob that threatened to well its way to the surface. "Just hang in there a little longer..."

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Ami sat with Nicole on the roof of the upper deck cabin, watching the festivities below as several of the trader crew members danced in circles about the lower deck in time to the rollicking music the small make-shift band was creating. Each nursing a small ale, which was the most alcohol Jenny ever allowed on board at any given time, they gossiped and laughed freely at the crew members below.

"Jack actually ain't half-bad for a guy," giggled Ami lightly. "Physically, I mean. And neither is Tanner, they both got that big, built look to them without being ripped with veins popping out all over the place. Personality wise, well...we just won't go there. But I do like their bodies."

"They aren't bad," admitted Nicole with a shrug, wrinkling her nose as she did. "Excuse me if I ignore Jack, though, for...well...I hate him. Yeah, that's about it, I can't stand him so much that I can't think of him in good terms at all."

"I don't see why, he can't exactly do anything other than tease you..."

"It's the fact that he ignores my existence except in attempts to cut me down even smaller than I already am that get to me the most," admitted the nymph, pouting. "If not for that, and if he ever learned to keep a decent tongue in his head, I might be able to stand him. Be he doesn't, and therefore I can't."

"Eh, it can't be helped, I guess." Ami shrugged her shoulder, leaning over the railing in a completely relaxed manner. "The Captain's been in a good mood since the deal with those creepy folks has been over."

"And understandably so, she's not doing all the work herself any more."

"True, true...oh, Talia scored some extra points with her today."

"Really?" Nicole perked up, more in an 'informative-listening' sort of way rather than true listening, though. "How so? Jenny's not that easily impressed, not when she's been Captain for as long as she has, anyways."

"Talia took it upon herself to go back and fix a bad deal that was made earlier today," explained the translator with a shrug. "She needed me, of course, to translate what was being said but Darik really needs to be more careful about the nuance of words when he's working deals. Didn't tell Captain or anything, just went, did it, got it fixed, and saved us a couple dozen gold maja's in the process."

"Well...that's not that impressive..." Nicole frowned, turning away as she tried to shrug off the feat as if it were as only as important as finding a minor mistake in the ship's accounting records. "I mean, it's been done before..."

"Yeah, by the Captain," replied Ami with a snort. "Never one of the crew members, though. She got a personal thank you and everything. Not that Jen's stand-offish with us or anything, but she's not one to praise needlessly either. You get a pat on the back for doing your job any old day, but you only get a smile and heart felt congratulations for doing something pretty special."

"Well...I don't think it's that special..."

Ami just laughed and pushed her mug over so Nicole could dip out another cupful. "Whatever you say, little nymph, whatever you say."

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Briteyes looked out the window of the house, hidden behind the curtains so as to not draw attention to herself. The smoke pillar from the island where the bodies were being burned was still present, but a general calm had settled over the city as mages and dedicates in the robes of Winding Circle spread through the streets and clinics, giving out the medication that had finally been created to counter the disease and saving likely dozens of lives in the process. Order had finally been restored to the noble city, and Duke Verdis was said to have made his first appearance since word of the plague had spread through the city sometime that day.

"How're things looking?" called Jon from by the fire, stirring the stew there was it was his turn to cook.

"Better, calmer," she replied flatly. "I think it's time I left again for a little while."

"Not until Kristen and the rest get back, you're not going anywhere," he replied with a shake of his head. "They still want an explanation from last time, you know."

"And if I don't have one to give?"

"They won't like it very much..."

"I need to go get Silven!" Briteyes frowned, turning around to glare at him. "And find out exactly what I missed at Winding Circle."

"Fine." He shrugged, smirking at her relieved sigh as she turned away that he wasn't going to fight her on this. "But I'm coming with."

She turned back around. "What?! No, you're staying here to await their arrival! If both of us are gone when they return, they'll flip!"

"Not my problem, and they'll forgive us when we return," he replied with another shrug. "And I'll be in a lot less hot water if I say I was making sure you weren't running away again rather than they come and find out I haven't a clue where you went off to this time."

"Matt and Mike wouldn't care," she argued hotly.

"But the other three would," he pointed out quickly. "And when it comes to having to deal with people, it's those three that matter more. Matt and Mike, you get them mad you go buy them a drink and they're happy again. Those three, you make them mad and its hell and purgatory for a freaking week."

Staring each other down, the performer gave simply on the grounds that she didn't have time to waste and nodded reluctantly. "Fine, get your things, we're going right now."

"Ok."

The walk over to Winding Circle was a quick one, owning to the fact they were able to catch a ride on a supply wagon for most of the way, and soon they were making their way down to the Cottage with thumbprints on their foreheads that marked them as without the disease and safe to walk around in public.

Knocking on the door, the pair were greeted by a pale Tris, Silven curled up comfortingly on her shoulder and the other three children seated around the breakfast table behind her.

"Hey," said Brite with a sheepish smile. "I miss mu-whoa!!"

Jon was forced back as all four mobbed the young woman, pulling her into a giant group hug at the sight of her well and alive once more. The squirrel wrapped herself about her friend's neck, showing now intention of letting go as she chattered on angrily and her friend just laughed in return. Another woman poked her head out of a side room, joining the hug when she saw who it was.

Giving Jon a quick introduction when they finally broke it up again, everyone piled into the house around the fire for some tea and tales of what had happened for awhile before the pair returned to the dojo with Silven in tow. Everything had turned out fine, and it was a fact that all appreciated greatly.

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Um...sorry? **_ducks the dozens of objects thrown at her_** I am really!! This chapter was almost completed about a month ago, but you can thank a certain 'kitten' for my distraction these last few weeks from anything else other than school and itself. My self-control will be greater, though, and the next chapter should not take nearly as long. Again, my apologies, and thank you to those of you who are still hanging with me here. It shall hopefully, in the end, be worth the wait!

crosseyedbutterfly


	22. 

No complaints on the length of time between updates, please. I have a life now, that's all. Much thanks to the few who still review, and to those who don't, SHAME ON YOU!! Oh well, your loss. Here, my friends, is Chapter 22:

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Brenna sat there with a closed mouth as Kaitlin pestered her about Libby's illness, shaking her head mutely when the younger girl refused to give up.

"Come on, just a few details? Please please please???"

"No!"

Kaitlin backed off a bit when she saw the dead look in her friend's eyes, pausing for a moment before she reached out hesitantly. "Brenna, I…"

"I won't tell you," said the older girl as she rose, straightening her work robes automatically as she did and giving the rest of them a masked look. "Libby's fine, I'm fine, that's all that matters, ok?!"

"Ok, ok, no need to go postal on us already," replied Cheeks with a shrug. "Leave her alone, Kaitlin, you can go bug Libby about it later if you want."

"She won't remember nothing, though," complained the younger woman with a shrug. "I wanna know what it's like to die…"

"No you don't!" Brenna turned away, crossing her arms as she did. "Look, when are the twins supposed to be back?"

"You mean our mage friends or the two that live across the way?" replied Rupal quickly. "The two across the way are staying at their house until their parents are sure that the sickness is gone for good."

"I meant the mage twins."

"Oh, we're not so sure about them." Rupal flipped open one of her account books, going over the numbers thoroughly for this that month's work. "They went off to Summer sea once word reached us that there was a plague there to see if there was anything they could do. They should be back soon, if not today, actually…"

"And thankfully, we're just in time for dinner," said Carrie brightly as she popped into the room, dragging her twin brother reluctantly behind her as usual.

"How's things in Summer sea?" asked Brenna instantly. "Where they hit hard there?"

"Well…" Carrie's face fell, and Carlton put a comforting hand on her shoulder and came forwards to take over from there.

"It still stands," he started slowly with a shrug. "Though it will be far less crowded next time you visit it, if ever. So many died they devoted an entire outer island just off the coast to burning the dead, and the stench of charred flesh will float over the fair city for weeks, perhaps even months. The resident temple, Winding Circle, came up with a cure after several weeks and many have been saved who would've otherwise died, but…" He paused, rubbing a hand over his eyes as if to rid himself of an image that he alone could see. "There are many who were lost that will be grieved. Some say the plague is a good thing, for it destroyed at least half of those living in the poorest section of the town, most of them vagrants and thieves. With no way to buy treatment for themselves, and Urda's House only able to accommodate so many of them such was inevitable but still… Life is precious and none one has the right to take it needlessly or say that it should be taken without reason." There he stopped, sitting beside his sister who hugged him tightly, hiding her face in his shoulder for a moment as she composed herself.

The rest of the farmers waited in silence, shocked for they had first of all never heard the young man speak so much in all they time they had known him and also in mourning for the beautiful town of the beloved Duke Verdis.

"As Carl said, it's awful there," said Carrie at long last, breaking the silence with a soft voice. "But it will recover as it always does. The Duke is a good man, he will take care of his people."

"Yeah…" Brenna nodded, heading towards the back door as she did. "I'll be out working if you guys need me, ok?"

"What's wrong with her?" asked Carrier as everyone else began to leave as well, heading for their respective posts.

Cheeks paused with a frown. "Well…death."

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Kristen sat nervously on her mount as they waited to go through the gate past the guard inspections, fidgeting with the reins so much that it was a good thing she rode a steady mare. Cam watched her, frowning as he did.

"You should take it easy before Tasha decides she's had enough and dumps you," he advised as they finally made it to the front of the line, passing through quickly with their proof of residence and heading in. "It especially wouldn't be good with all these people around."

"Aren't you a little worried about what we might find?" she asked roughly, setting her jaw as she began to push her way through the crowded streets.

"Other than the minute possibility of little Jon's and Manda's, not really," he replied with a shrug. " And there's truly more of a chance of Matt and Mike giving up drinking and fencing than it actually happening, so I'm not worried. I'll be happy to see my cousin again, yeah, and I'll be happy to be home again. But I'm not all scared like you are at what we might find. They'll be alive, because they said they would be."

"You're unquestioning trust gets a little old sometimes," she muttered back, continuing to press on and leaving the boys to deal with the wagon they'd rented through the slower traffic. "Admirable, but old."

"Hey, wait up!" Cam left the elder boys to take care of it, riding after her on his prancing gelding. Catching up to her, he pushed through at her side as they quickly made their way to their home and place of business. Several minutes of tense silence brought them within sight of the structure and mere moments more to the front gate.

Unlocking it and letting themselves in, Kristen felt her heart freeze up and the sight of everything being so still and silent. The dojo was dark as was the front windows of the house, and they quickly tied up the two horses at the front post before heading inside through the main entrance.

"Hey…anyone home?" Kristen's voice echoed back at herself, almost mockingly as they made their way into the deserted kitchen. The fireplace, usually a sure sign of occupancy with its fresh coals, was cold and dead. Plates were put away, the blankets her sister usually slept on folded and put away, everything neatly arranged and perfectly set to welcome them home…without a Jon or Amanda in sight. "What the heck…?"

"Something wrong?" asked Cam as he slid out of his light cape, setting it on its hook and removing his boots by the door.

"They're not here," replied Kristen as she hurried up the ladder, checking the rooms on the upper level and finding them deserted as well. "Cam, they're not here!"

"What? Are you sure?" He came to the bottom of the latter, looking up with a frown as the first signs of doubt began to creep across his face. "They said they'd be here…"

"See? I told you we'd beat them back!"

The pair frozen, listening as two sets of footsteps came in the house.

"There wouldn't be a problem if you hadn't haggled for so long with the meat vendors," grumbled a second voice. "What the freaking heck difference does three cents make?!"

"That man was not going to cheat me out of a fair price, my momma didn't raise no fool!"

"WHERE HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?!"

Briteyes froze in mid-stride in the entrance to the kitchen, Jon just a few steps ahead of her. A pissed off Kristen glared at her from the top of the ladder, Cam just watching with a relieved and amused grin on his face at the bottom.

"Yeah, we're gonna beat them back alright," drawled Brite dryly as she moved to the counter, resisting the urge to give the apologetic Jon a kick on her way past him. "I told you they'd be back today!"

"How was I supposed to know you were right?!" he grouched, putting the food on the counter and with a snort. "You're not always right, you know…"

"Close enough."

"Oh, shut up-"

**_WHUMP_**

Kristen slowly straightened herself, having jumped from the top of the ladder and now standing before them with a gleam of rage in her eyes.

"Scare me like that again," she growled. "And you will both wake to find yourselves with some new scars. Remember, you're immortal, so I can kill you as many time as I want and you'll always come back for more!"

"You know," muttered Brite out of the side of her mouth as Kristen moved away, heading back outside to grab her gear. "Suddenly the ability to survive anything is not so appealing, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do…"

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"Ahoy, there!"

Jenny stood at the railing of her ship, nodding respectfully to the man who hailed them from the deck of one of the patrol ships. Most everyone was else busy bringing in the sale or preparing to unload at the dock so she was the only one paying attention. Wondering if it had anything to do with the pillar of smoke from one of the islands, she replied politely. "Good morn, sir! What is it you require of me?"

"Just some information you need to know! There was plague in Summersea, were you aware of that?"

"Plague? No! Is the port closed off?"

"Not any longer, the mages at Winding Circle have found a cure and most have been administered with the antidote. Just the same you might want to stay aboard for a good couple of days before unloading your goods just to be sure, especially in replenishing your water supply. If one of your crew contracts the disease, the dedicates will gladly help in curing him or her as well but you have been fairly warned as to the estate of things here, as per order of Duke Verdis!"

"Yes, thank you sir!"

"Fair winds to your sails, Trader!" He gave her a salute as they moved off to another ship entering the port.

She saluted back, watching as he disappeared in the distance. "And the same to you!"

"Trevor!" she called, the young man hurrying over to her side quickly. "Tell the crew to call off preparations for unloading and call Nicole, Ami, Gwen, Jack, Talia and Tanner to my office. You're to come as well, so make it quick."

He nodded, frowning in concern. "Yes ma'am! Bad news?"

Jenny shrugged. "Maybe, we'll have to see."

He was obviously puzzled by this but nodded regardless, heading for the hatch. "Alright, I'll be back in a moment."

"Thanks." Making her way to her berth, the Captain quickly put together a plan of action as a few who had heard the odd orders gave her curious looks on her way past. Finding half those requested waiting for her inside and the other half arriving shortly thereafter they all took as seat as she related the news the patrolman had given her.

"I want to go to Winding Circle!" said Nicole quickly. "For all we know there could be people we know who caught it and are recovering there!"

"No," replied Jenny quickly. "That's too dangerous. The plague is still around, and even if it's been cured and supposedly 'under control' we're not going anywhere near where it is most likely in concentration. Here's your orders. Ami, go with Tanner on shore and find out what places are currently considered 'safe' as far as water and supplies go. Jack and Tyler, keep the crew busy any way you can think. Thoroughly cleaning, lists repairs, listings of inventory, supply checks, etc…be creative if you have to be. Nicole, I want you to listen to the winds and tell me what you hear, ok? If we get any sort of word that the plague is out of control again we're out of here, sickness taking out half the crew is the last thing we need."

"No kidding," replied Jack as he rose with a smirk. "C'mon, Tyler, time to whip the doggies into work…"

"And Jack," added Jenny as he started out the door. "If you nearly cause an overthrow from unfair order I'll call you down in front of the crew, strip you of your rank, and leave you at their mercy."

He turned and glared at her, blushing faintly at her automatic warning. "….fine."

"Glad to know you've got things in hand," chuckled Tanner under his breath as he pulled on one boot tighter. "C'mon Ami, we've got work to do."

"Coming…"

"I'll make sure Jack doesn't disobey," said Tyler as he headed out the door, leaving Nicole alone with their Captain.

"Are you sure I can't go?" asked the small nymph, almost pleadingly.

"Yes," replied Nicole with a nod. "I know, I'd like to see if we could find some of the others too and figure out what our purpose is here…but that's not an option right now, ok?"

"Yeah, ok…" Nicole flew off, pouting as she went up to the top of the highest mast, settling herself there grumpily. "Doesn't mean I have to like though…"

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Alyse and Landon opened the letter carefully, knowing the seal was of that of their 'home base' and yet cautious in case it was a trap. They were so rarely contacted in this way that it seemed a bit odd that a message would arrive in this form. That combined, with the odd occurrence just a few nights before and they were more on their guard than usual.

Alyse melted away the seal, stirring it carefully to mess up any spell that might have been engrained in it before opening the flap itself. Pulling out a folded piece of paper with one gloved hand, she looked at it in her magical vision before opening it and reading it aloud to an expectant Landon.

"_Seer and Cleaser,_

_I hope we find you well. Unfortunately, we require your presence so return at once as quickly as possible. The Cat is elsewhere, do not concern yourself with her._

_The Council_."

"I'm not so sure I trust this," said Landon as he sat back, running a hand through his hair. "What if it's not from them and some group of unmagic mages have found our position?"

"If they have surely we would've felt their presence nearby, or heard of it," replied Alyse skeptically. "Besides the fact that there'd be residual unmagic on the letter from being in their presence and the replication of the council's seal."

"It still seems odd," he pointed out slowly. "They've never sent it in a letter form just leaving it somewhere we would find it like by our campfire in the morning."

"We would know who brought it if you'd stayed awake during your watch," she replied with a wry look.

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Let's head on back," she offered as she stood slowly, straightening her skirts as she did. "And do a double check on the way, ok? If it is a trap, we won't get a reply message if we send one to one of the side sources, right?"

"Ok, yeah."

"Alright, then, let's go."

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Ben scrubbed away at the crusted pots as a few of the day maids sat by the fire, gossiping quietly over some ale they'd coaxed the cook into letting them have as a sort of solace after a day of hard work. The footman were out until late, so there'd be no comfort waiting for them tonight and with that in mind they all drained their tankards willingly and let their tongues become a bit looser than usual.

"Tony has been stingy as of late," complained one as she leaned over the table, the others giving her curious looks. "Never more than once a week, though he used to be coming nearly every month a mere moon ago."

"I know, I could hear you almost every night," commented another dryly. "I'm finally getting some decent sleep at night."

"And that's only because she prefers a cold bed to a warmed one," snorted a third.

The rest laughed, used to such talk amongst themselves. Ben felt his cheeks heat slightly, knowing what they were referring too and a little embarrassed by it. A few of the other servant boys had 'explored' in that respect, but he himself still slept alone. Sure, he'd been invited once or twice, but it seemed like a cheap way to get something like that.

"Careful there," said one of those facing him who caught his odd look with a grin. "You might be giving the young one here something his virgin ears have not yet heard of!"

"Little Ben, not popular with the other young girls? Last I checked, he was well spoken of by most of them," someone laughed. "Have you been keeping any of them company as of late, young Ben?"

"No," he replied, flushing even more as they giggled lightly.

"Hoping to find one to bed permanently?" she asked. "Good luck, the Master doesn't condone those types of relationships among his servants."

"Not that it might matter for long," said one who happened to serve the Master personally on a regular basis. "The doctor came a calling today."

"That's nothing unusual, the doctor's been calling regularly for years since the Baron got paranoid about his health," commented someone else.

"Yes, but now he's come down with something," she said in hushed tones. "We were given orders to administer medicine and other things to him regularly and to keep him in bed for the time being."

"That bad, hm?"

"He also suggested the boy's next of kin is called in…that's never a good sign."

"Calling in another to take care of the estates? Of course it's not!"

"Still, do you think…"

"Wagging tongues are devil's work!" said the cook as he came in, giving them all heavy looks as he positioned himself between Ben and them. "And you never know whose ears might catch careless words. Get on to bed now, it's early enough to warrant a decent night's sleep for once."

Silently they rose and filed out, some giving Ben an odd look which he returned with equal puzzlement. What was he being singled out for?

"I don't think the Baron's got your ear," commented the man as he left the room, leaving Ben alone to finish on the last pot. "But you are a favorite of his son, and that makes you a bit dangerous for the rest of us, boy. G'night."

"Yes, sir. Good night." Letting those final words through his head, the young one finished up his task and made his way to his pallet for the night. If the Baron was sick, and died, maybe his son would let him go free…

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

"Sleep well last night?"

Olivia didn't reply as Bryanna smirked knowingly, continuing to pack her things while the healer watched her leaning against the door post.

"You looked pretty comfortable to me," she added teasingly.

Olivia's eye twitch ever so slightly.

"Very warm, too, did anything happen before you fell asleep? I never thought an ice mage would let things get heated up…"

"You guys ready to go yet?" asked Randy as he came barging in, his saddle bags already over his shoulder as usual. "Sheesh, you guys are slow."

"I'm ready," said Bryanna as she picked up her bags, heading towards the door. "Olivia's the one that's slow today, ice tends to be a big sluggish when it gets melted…"

Randy blinked in confusion as she swept past him out the door, looking from Olivia to her and back again. "Huh?? Did I miss something?"

"No more than usual," replied Olivia, rolling her eyes with a slight smile. Tossing her packed bag at him she walked past him, heading for the stables downstairs. "Let's get going or we won't make our next stop before dark."

"Um…ok."

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Brenna sat with her legs crossed in the middle of one of the fields, meditating as her new 'teacher' had taught her silently as he had instructed her to. Time passed, and once she felt things around her were growing as vibrantly as ever she moved on to the next field.

_Meditating in the fields brings you into the same focus as the plants are_ his voice reverberated through her head. _The more familiar you are with them, as individuals and not as just 'a stalk of corn' or 'a pumpkin vine' the better you will be able to communicate with them and tend to their needs as those needs are presented. _

Wondering if Rosethorn had had to do this in her early years as an apprentice, the young woman settled herself down in another field after giving Cheeks who was plowing in a distant field a wave and began the exercise all over again. It wasn't difficult, simply time-consuming, and once again she waited endlessly in that comfortable communion with the growing beings around her until she was sure they were 'in tune' together and she could move on safely. Her teacher had already assured her he'd send her right back out there to do it again if he found even a hint of 'cheating' and it was so easy and relaxing Brenna had to wonder why anyone would want to.

Letting a small chuckled escape her lips, her thoughts turned to her teacher in his younger years. That straight-shirted young man, did he ever 'cheat' during his meditations? It was doubtful, she decided, he'd probably been that serious and obedient since the day he was born to make up for his twin's mischievous nature.

Heading over to the final field as the sun was sinking in the west, she was surprised to find her 'mentor' already there sitting in his usual lotus position with eyes closed and (surprisingly enough) a small smile on his face.

"Carlton…?"

He opened his eyes slowly, the smile immediately leaving his face as he assumed his usual serious demeanor and motioned for him to join her. "Did you finish the meditating as I instructed you?" he asked simply as she sat across from him carefully.

"All but this field," she replied dutifully. "Do you want me to start on it now or wait until after dinner?"

"It can wait for tomorrow, let's go eat." He rose, walking towards the house and leaving a surprised Brenna in his wake.

"Wait…what?!"

He turned back around, giving her an annoyed look as he hated repeating himself. "I said…"

"I heard what you said," she cut in, ignoring the incensed look she was given for her abrupt actions. "Why? You never let me off early even when it's getting late."

"Meditating is a very relaxing, and sometimes even tiring task," he replied, going into lecture mode as she sighed impatiently. "For those who have done it for years, it is a way to commune with your abilities in a peaceful manner while exerting little of your own strength. It can help heal wounds, speed up the rate of recovering in the case of illness, and even…soften the disposition of those who drive their students to become masters at what they do for one evening." There he paused, giving her a wry grin. "Try not to take advantage of it, it shall not happen very often."

"Oh…" She watched him turn and walk back to the house. "Do I have to meet you after dinner to do the bookwork, then?"

He turned to look at her over his shoulder, this time his eyes flashing angrily. "Do I need to spell it out for you on paper?! No, we're done for the night!"

"Ok, ok, don't need to yell…" She grumbled under her breath as she headed in after him. "Better be glad I need to learn this stuff from him or I'd beat him within an inch of his life….bloody mage…"

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

"C'mon, is there a bright light at least? Could you tell me that much?"

Jon shrugged Cam off as he headed for the door, the young man hurrying after him down the hall. "Just leave me alone, ok? If you're that curious, go bug your cousin about it."

"She won't tell me anything about it either," replied Cam bluntly. "Besides, I feel a little bad about asking her…"

"And you don't mind prying details like that out of me at all," snorted Jon, clearly annoyed. "Nice to know you respect my privacy."

"I don't go digging around in your room, that would really be invading your privacy," pointed out the younger on quickly. "Then again, it's kind of like Kristen's room where there's so much crap thrown all over the place most of the time that even Manda's afraid to go poking around in there by herself, but still!"

"Look, it's not as big a deal as you're making it out to be," he snapped, dumping the bucket of dishwater out in the gutter. The drain in the kitchen was clogged again he'd have to go back and check out the pipe work later on. "It didn't even feel like I was dead, just sorta sleeping-ish…"

"They say death is an eternal slumber," Cam pointed out quickly. "Did you just stay asleep until you woke back up again? I mean…um…did your mind stay in your body or did you go somewhere else? Did you see heaven and hell?"

Jon turned around and glared at him, the empty bucket still hanging from his hands. "Why do you care so much?!"

"I just wanna know!!"

"Whiney brat…" Slamming the door in the face of his new shadow, Jon went back to the kitchen and continued to clean up things a bit from breakfast. Kristen had an early class that day and as Briteyes had taken off for her own form of work for the moment, he was left with the chores for the moment. Mike and Matt were still asleep after having visited the local tavern again the night before, but that wasn't too odd.

"Hey, that wasn't appreciated!"

Jon sighed, turning around to find Cam standing behind him with his arms crossed over his narrow chest. "Neither is you bugging me!"

"I have the excuse that the knowledge could be useful in the future."

"And that's all it is, an excuse!"

"You don't have one."

"How about to rid myself of this annoyance named Cam?"

"That's just being rude!"

"It's still an excuse according to you."

"Knock it off you two!" Chris looked down at them from the top of the ladder, standing there with a hammer in one hand and his arms crossed. "I can hear you all the back from Cam's room!"

"Tell him to bugger off!" growled Jon, turning his back on the younger boy.

"He's being rude!" protested Cam quickly.

"Hey, I don't care who's doing what!" yelled Chris, getting silence again effectively enough. "Just keep it down so I can concentrate! Hanging shelves isn't easy without a level available, and unless you both want your new shelves crooked you'll leave me alone!"

"Alright, alright…"

"You still coulda been nicer about it," muttered Cam as he made his way over to the dojo to check on Kristen. "It would've saved us all a lot of trouble…"

"Oh, shut up!"

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Jenny was just on her way to board her ship when she found herself with an unusually polite Jack and a happy Ami on either side.

"Did I miss something?" she asked as she paused at the end of the gangplank, both of them exchanging hopeful looks as Ami presented the case. "What is it?"

"Tonight there's going to a festival in one of the open parts of town, a small traveling caravan came into Summersea for the week and the Duke has authorized it to perform within the city limits and declared an impromptu for the night!"

"What's his excuse?" asked their Captain, her interest perked for the moment.

"Something about his niece's birthday," replied Jack with a shrug. "Who cares? We haven't seen some good entertainment for awhile, Jen, don't you think you could let most of us off for one night? Technically the only one you'd have to leave behind is the little brat because she couldn't really enjoy the party there and she's more than enough to guard this old tub."

"First of all, don't call my ship an 'old tub'," said Jenny as she gave him a scathing look before going on. "It's what gets us from one port to another without dying and it deserves a little more of your respect than that. Second, I want reports of what's been accomplished today. If progress has been made, I don't see any harm in taking a night off, but only if we're getting things accomplished. I'm not going to give us a break if we can't afford it, the last thing we need is to go bankrupt at the moment."

"A lot's been done," jumped in Jack quickly. "The repairs have been started, and several side projects completed in just the last two days alone…"

"I said bring me the reports," cut in Jenny, rolling her eyes. "I want the actual reports, not some vague crap…"

"Ok, ok, I'm going."

"I'll have everyone else know they need to come talk to you," said Ami as she disappeared down into the hold, heading for the kitchen from which the news would spread the fasted. Their cook could whip up a pie nearly as quick as she could spread a tale, and that was pretty impressive indeed.

"I don't like it," said Nicole when she was informed a little while later, sitting on the window sill of Jenny's office as everyone else came and went with their reports.

"It doesn't matter if you like it or not," replied Jenny as she went over the papers handed to her. "The fact is no matter you can't go, you'd have to stay hidden the whole time and with the amount of people likely to be there you peaking your head out now and again would be a very bad idea indeed."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah….still, why do I have to be the only one to stay?" The small nymph pouted, pulling her knees up to her chest as she stared out the thick, glass window set in the porthole.

"I never said you'd be the only one," replied Jenny in a distracted manner. "I just haven't found anyone else who wants to stay with you…"

"I'll stay if no one else will," offered Trevor from where he stood in the doorway, smiling at Nicole kindly. "It's not safe to leave her by herself, you know, especially if a stronger mage than she were to try and board the ship while she's protecting it."

"Then what good would you be?" poked Jenny teasingly.

"I could at least provide a distraction long enough for her to blast them from behind or something," pointed out their crewman cheerfully. "I don't mind being the bait, I'm pretty good at it too. The defenseless, easily preyed upon male, that's me!"

"The fact that you seem so proud of it is what disturbs me the most," coughed Nicole in her hand.

"We're well ahead of where I thought we would be on some things," put in Jenny, bringing that little bunny trail in a quick end. "So everyone except you and Nicole have the night off tonight, and you two will keep watch until tomorrow morning. Think you can handle that Trevor?"

"Absolutely," he said with a smart salute. "An empty ship besides a six-inch tall nymph…how hard could it be?"

Nicole felt an evil smile grow on her face as he left to go take a nap before nightfall. "Oh…you should never underestimate the powers of the nymph, for we are strange and scary creatures to those who know us not…hehehe…."

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Alyse and Landon, after going through the laborious process of sending a message ahead and getting the reply at the check point while waiting on pins and needles, had arrived back at their home base once again and were quickly admitted behind it's thick doors and into its shadowy depths.

Getting a little while to freshen up in clean clothes that were laid out and waiting for them, the pair washed away what dirk they could from the miles and miles of traveling they'd done. Combing her hair out, Alyse sat on the bottom bunk barefoot and with her legs crossed as she tried to rid herself of as many knots and tangles as possible. Taking up the leather ties that had been left with her dress and tunic she tied it back out of her face at long last, standing and stretching slowly.

"Ahh…it feels good to be back here, doesn't it?" she asked as she looked over at her partner, who was sitting at the table trying to lace up the cuffs of the shirt they'd left him and failing miserably.

"At least we'll eat and sleep well for a few days," he replied flatly, more concerned with the cuffs that what she was saying. "Argh, come on, go in the hole…" A pair of hands shooed his away, the young man looking up to see Alyse sit beside him and take his arm into her lap.

"Let me, you're hopeless when it comes to things one-handed," she told him with a half-grin, getting a sheepish smile in return.

"Yeah, I am pretty pathetic on my own," he agreed with a slow nod. "I've always been that way, though."

"Then it's probably a good thing you didn't get sucked in here alone," she said teasingly as she tied off the cords neatly. "Give me your other one."

He obeyed, confused. "Sucked in…?"

"…this isn't our world, remember?" She met his eyes, him blushing furiously as he realized his mistake and her just chuckling to herself. "I know, it's easy to forget sometimes when you get so wrapped up in what's going on around you, but you have to remember at all times, we're going home some day."

"Yeah, I know…"

"Excuse me, they are ready to see you now."

The pair looked up to see one of the messengers peaking in their doorway, immediately standing and putting on their shoes.

"Lead the way," said Alyse as she stuck both fans in her belt out of habit. "Let's get this giving report thing over with so we can get going again. Sound good to you, Landon?"

"It sounds very good to me," he replied with a smile.

"Then let's go!"

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Ben sidled up beside the old woman while they were being fed, smiling as she patted his head fondly.

"You've been busy, I haven't seen you much these days," she said slowly as she sat herself down at one of the tables, getting her own seat from the deference her age got her.

"Yes, grandmother, they've been keeping me running from first light until well after dark," he replied obediently, standing beside her as he was too young to warrant a seat of his own or even share with some of the younger adults. In a few years perhaps he could boss others out of their places but not quite yet.

"You don't bother to come and speak to me anymore unless you're in need of something," she went on with a knowing smile, no malice or disappointment visible in her eyes or audible in her town. "What is it this time, my youngling?"

"I was just wondering…they say the Master is sick," he started carefully, making sure to keep his tone even and uninteresting so none of the usual snoops would listen in on their conversation. "Very, very sick, and that they've had to call in special doctor's and all to treat him. Does that he might die soon?"

"And the underlying question to that is, what happens to us if he dies, right?" put in the old woman with a low laugh. "My boy, do not get your hopes up, even if were to die we will simply be inherited by his son and even as his current favorite he is more likely to keep you around for his own amusement than to let you go if such a think were to happen."

"I see…"

"And that is assuming the man will die in the first place," she went on, shaking her head. "That man is the most stubborn creature I have ever met in my life, and as it is he will likely live with a horrible disease in pain and misery for another hundred years just to spite the rest of us! He'd rather suffer and force the rest of us to suffer with him than to pass peacefully onto his next life, such is the way of his kind. Do not worry, youngling, you will likely be kept here for many years yet even long after my old bones have laid themselves down for the last time along with many others here."

"Ok." Ben hung his head in disappointment. "Oh well…one can hope, though, right?"

"One can always hope," replied the old woman with a nod. "Just do not become obsessed with your hopes, because otherwise they will be horribly disappointing."

"I understand." The young man finished his food and moved off, taking up his flute and escaping to the back corner of his small room to play himself to sleep. So that hope was now dashed, but there had to be another way. He couldn't be stuck here his whole life, just scrubbing floors and running errands for people. He'd find a way out, eventually. He hoped.

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Randy and Bryanna sat together in the outer room of the Master mage's workshop, both absorbed in their own 'projects' of sorts as Olivia stayed outside with the said mage working on her skills. There, that far north, the ice lay around the building a good six inches deep at the shallow parts and as much as two feet deep in the drifts.

"Our objective today is to build a sculpture for the town here for the ice festival tonight," he said as they walked around the area, trying to find the best place within which to build the sculpture. "The air is a little dryer than normal, and it will be difficult to even use moisture from our own bodies to create the ice as cold as it is out here, but there is plenty on the ground just waiting for us to make use of it and the dry air will insure that even if we make something they can walk inside, the structure will hold firm for even the moisture from their breath will not be enough to melt the ice."

"What about doing it over one of the drifts?" offered Olivia. "That would ensure that we have plenty to work with without moving it from other areas."

"In this case, that is a bad idea," he replied with a shake of his head. "Where the ice is the deepest the land is the least frozen beneath it, and thus a poor choice. We need to find a wide, shallow area near the road."

"Such as this one right in front of your home," she said, feeling like an idiot. Of course he would already have a place he would use every year, he was just trying to make her think through it herself. "Now what?"

"We decide what we're doing," he replied with a shrug. "These last few years I've done a dragon with a slide coming down its tail, a mountain for which to climb, a giant tree which they could climb as well…what would you suggest?"

"A castle," said Olivia immediately. "Which they could walk into and explore to their hearts content."

"The problem with that is that such things must be lit on the inside," he pointed out slowly. "And things such as candles or oil lamps are not exactly wise choices to use inside a castle of ice…"

"We could use Randy, then," she said quickly, turning back towards the house. "He's a light mage, and he's finally learned how to create lights without melting or burning things. Will that do?"

He smiled, already turning around to being his work. "Perfectly."

It took several hours, but the final product was well worth the effort put into it (though Randy complained the whole time he was forced to be outside). It was two stories tall, with ten strong pillars that supported the octagonal structure with one at each corner and two in the center. In the middle of the pillars was a small pocket on each level, and there Randy concocted his witch lights which would burn endlessly until the ice around it was removed or melted away by another force. On the second floor they constructed the roof to be dome shaped, leaving pockets of it open in a stylized fashion to the stars or sun shining through it would created a pattern. With two slides from the top to the ground for the kids and several artistic bits added here and there to entertain the adults, the mages felt their time had been well-spent indeed and the final result was most satisfying to look upon.

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Brenna was pleased to be supervising instead of doing the work herself for once, going from one place of work to the next as she watched over the others who completed the tasks necessary for her. Libby and Cheeks worked the horses, the plows easily furrowing through the fine loam in their fields and leaving it prepared for the seed that Kaitlin and the twins scattered along in their trails. Trading out their beasts every hour or so, they worked quickly and kept well ahead of the three on their tail.

Prancing and dancing about, the trio had put garlands of early spring flowers around their necks and in the hair, giving them the look of field pixies coming out to play at the first sight of spring. Though much was done in jest, the work was completed slowly but surely and as such no one could complain or wanted to for they provided much needed humor in such a time of work.

Rupal and the mage twins followed behind them, spreading around the fertilizer Carlton and Brenna had prepared the day before to intermingle with the seeds. Their job too the longest, and by the time Cheeks and Libby had finished with all three fields that they'd worked through that day the last three were only halfway through their task. Coming back to help them, the work went doubly as fast with twice as many people helping and they too were caught up in no time.

Lunch came and went, it being cold cuts of meat that Brenna prepared with slices of fresh bread and cheese with clear well water to drink. And yet before they knew it the sun was setting and it was time for dinner, the devilish trio of field sprites taking over the kitchen while the rest cleaned up and finished the final tasks of the day like feeding and watering their beasts and putting their planting materials up for the night.

Gathering around the dinner table, tired but pleased with the work completed, they broke bread together and gave thanks for the bountiful feast that was spread before them. Well fed, well clothed, and well worked, there was little else they could ask for in this near-perfect life that had been handed to them that seemed like heaven compared to the life they'd been scrounging for mere months before. Things were looking up, and for that they were grateful.

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Chris carried a bundle over his shoulder as he came in from work for once, setting it down in the corner by the fire before removing his boots and light cloak and sat himself down with the rest to eat dinner.

"You're late," said Mike, trying to 'crack down' on the bigger black guy.

"And you don't work half as much as he does, therefore you have no room to talk," cut in Kristen flatly, putting an end to that discussion. Her face was set in a frown as she cut the bread for the evening with an unusual ferocity, and all of the guys seemed to back away from her instinctively.

"Brite slipped off again," explained Matt in a low voice when Chris sent him a questioning look, the bigger man nodding understandingly when he put it together in his mind. "She left a note like last time, but no one knows where she headed towards."

"What's in the bundle?" asked Cam, pointing to the bulky package in the corner.

"Just something I'm working on," replied Chris, reaching for the bread and tearing off a hunk for himself.

"I thought you didn't bring work home," said Kristen, passing him the plate with roasted pieces of turkey before taking one for herself. "Is this some sort of rush project that can't wait?"

"No, it's not really work, I'm not getting paid to do it."

"Then why are you doing it at all?" the distain in Mike's voice was obvious, as was the sneer on his face. "Charity work don't get you crap, man, so why even bother, right?"

"It's not for charity, either," he replied with a shrug. "I guess you could say it's for me, but that's not really true either…let's just say I'm trying to make something that I've never made before."

"Experimenting?" put in Cam helpfully.

"Yeah, to put it simply." Chris stuffed his mouth with a bite of turkey wrapped in bread and dipped in the sauce they had out on the table. "How did classes go today?"

Immediately jumping upon that chance, Cam bragged about how he'd beaten some older kid in one of Jon's classes up on the beams before Kristen shut him down with a stern glare and a firm declaration that he would not be fighting up there. Matt picked up the slack from there, going on about two of his students who kept going off on fights of their own during class no matter what the current exercise was. The package was forgotten through the rest of the meal, everyone helping clean up in their own way before scattering to different parts of the house for their different nightly routines.

Chris stayed in the kitchen, though, opening the package and setting it on the table as he pulled out the set of tools that he left at the house for emergency situations. Inside the leather wrapping was a long piece of ash and another a darker, heavy wood in the shape of a block.

The ash he took and began to carve away, shaping it so it was flat on one side and rounded on the other with small ridges put in it at different intervals along the neck that he measured from some marks on a paper he had with him. At one end he flared it out slightly, leaving it solid as it was and adding in four holes where pegs would go later on. Then he added small strips of the darker wood between the four holes and the rest of the shaft as well as inlaying them in the grooves at the interval marks so they stood up out of the ash just ever so slightly.

Kristen came in then, coming to stand beside him as he inspected his handy work and made some adjustments to it.

"What is it?" she asked as he handed it to her, running her fingers along it curiously.

"If I do it right, a 'bass lute', if not just a piece of wasted junk," he replied with a shrug.

"It's for Amanda, isn't it?"

"She hates to be called that, you know."

"I know, but I don't care. She's Amanda, and someday she'll let us call her that again whether or not she wants us to."

"As stubborn as you are, I believe it." He took the piece of ash back from her, placing it in the leather wrapping and picking up the block of darker wood and his chisel. "I want this to be done for the next time she visits, though."

"Not that any of us knows when that'll be," snorted Kristen, turning to head back up to her room and probably to bed.

"So she left again?" Chris asked the question carefully, not wishing to provoke Kristen's wrath at this point at time.

"Yeah…" The young woman paused at the bottom of the ladder with her back to him. "One of these days…not that I could ever do any harm to her, it's always been like that, but still…I wish she trusted us enough to at least tell us when she wanted to leave."

"Would you let her if she told you?"

The question hung in the air for a moment before Kristen turned around slightly with a half-hearted smile on her face. "No, I probably wouldn't. She always returns, though, even if she never lets on until the day she arrives when that'll be. Night." And with that she slipped up the ladder and out of sight.

"Very true, which is why I should probably get working. Sleep well." He sat himself down, making himself comfortable by the fire and picking up a hammer as well. "Let's see if I have what it takes…"

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Nicole sat on Trevor's shoulder in the shadow of his collar, pleased with the fact that she got another chance to be close to him and that for once it was just the two of them. After their night on board the ship together keeping watch, he'd promised to take her out for a day if she'd behave and as she kept her end of the bargain very admirably he had to do the same in return.

"Where do you want to eat?" he asked, disguising it as a cough as him talking to himself would be a bit odd to anyone who was watching him.

"Some place inside," she replied, using the winds to bring her voice to his ear more easily as she was seated directly below it. "Where I can get out of here…"

"You're not comfortable?" He reached up with one hand to adjust the collar, and she quickly patted him on the neck to let him know it was ok.

"I am," she assured him quickly with a pat on the neck. "I just want out. It's too nice a day to be cooped up in someone's hood, right?"

Trevor laughed softly, hiding the movement behind his curled hand so as to not drawn unwanted attention to himself. "I suppose so."

"That tavern right there has good ale," she suggested with a nudge to a small place off to the right, looked over for the most part by the majority of the townsfolk but well-known to the few patrons who'd inhabited it.

He looked over it dubiously, for places like that often times brewed trouble. "Have you been in there before?"

Nicole snorted in annoyance that he would dare distrust her choice. "With Jenny and Gwen, its clean and safe enough as Tavern's go."

"Ok, ok, we're going…" He gave in with a slight shrug, biting back the desire to stick his tongue out at her as, number one, she couldn't really see it, and two, it would look incredibly odd to anyone who was walking around him right then. Taking a back corner seat, it only took a few coins, a word with the barmaid who was on duty right then, and a couple of minutes to have a fresh plate of stew and bread, a mug of ale, and total privacy for just the two of them. The way the room was arranged he'd have little trouble hearing someone if they approached his small 'booth' area in the back in time to hide Nicole, and that suited him just fine.

The small nymph soon sat on the edge of the table, a bit of bread soaked in the stew's broth in one hand and her personal mug with ale from Trevor's larger cup in the other. Quietly munching away (for once in her life) she studied her surroundings in silence as well as her gigantic-compared-to-her companion.

He was probably the nicest of the brothers to her, and honestly she didn't mind any of them in particular (especially when compared to Jack, may he one day roast in the farthest, most tortured pits of hell) but Trevor was steadily gaining a special place in her heart and she wished for once she could talk to him face to face instead of at a distance. Sure, he'd bend down sometimes so they were eye level but it wasn't the same. To him, she could never be more than his 'small friend' and it was really starting to get to her.

Trevor, who was absorbed in filling his empty stomach paused when he realized there was a pair of eyes on him and turned to find the resident nymph studying intently.

"Um…something wrong?"

Nicole blinked and blushed as she quickly looked away. "No, sorry, I just…I got lost in my thoughts, that's all."

"Oh, ok. Well, if you're done…" He wiped his mouth, pushing back the empty plate and mug slightly. "I'm ready to go when you are."

Nicole looked down at the bread she still had and tossed it back on the plate, she could always get more out of the cook later if she wanted, and drained her mug before clipping it back on her belt. "I guess that'd be now."

"Let's go, then."

She was up his sleeve and into his hood again in a heartbeat, and mere moments later saw them back out on the streets wandering around some more in the market place. Time passed much too quickly for the small nymph for she enjoyed the time she spent alone with Trevor and as the sun set they began the trek back to the ship. Taking a shortcut through alley, though, their way was blocked by an old man all swathed in dark scraps of ragged cloth.

"A present for ye," he rumbled in a rough voice, holding out a circular medallion that was black on a twisted cord.

"Hm?" Trevor looked at in curiously. "What is it?"

"A present, as I said, or are ye too daft to understand that?" His words were practically forced from his raw throat, and it grated on Nicole's nerves almost as much as what she felt from the pendant was.

"Well, no, I just…"

"Don't take it!" she whispered urgently into his ear, tugging on the lobe urgently. "Just ignore him and keep walking!"

"But…sir, why give it to me?"

"Because, lad, I wish to. Now take it!"

"Don't do it!" Nicole was practically pleading now, on the verge of revealing herself to simply get them away from whatever impending doom she felt coming upon them faster. "C'mon, just keep walking!"

"Sir, I can't just…!"

"Daft, ye are! Take it!" The old man shoved it into Trevor's chest, immediately whisking himself away down another alley and disappearing from sight.

"But I…hm." Trevor held it in his hands, holding it up to the light as Nicole felt herself relax immensely. "I wonder who that old guy was."

"I've never seen him before," replied Nicole, staying hidden as she observed the medallion as well. Something about it still irked her, but not nearly as much as before. "I still think you shouldn't have taken it…"

"It's just a medallion," he argued with a shrug as he stuck it in his pocket and continued his walk back to the ship. "C'mon, I have first watch tonight and I'd rather not be late."

"Yeah, ok."

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Alyse and Landon stood still obediently as a white ring of magical energy formed around them, the elders performing a test that had never been done on them before but was required none the less. Apparently there was the occasional problem with unmagic hunters actually being 'poisoned' from how much unmagic they destroyed and had to be decontaminated of the taint before it destroyed them much in the same fashion that it did others.

"Hehe…it tickles," said Landon as the ring raised itself, the energy visibly passing through their bodies time and time again in different angles and fashions. Their clothes rippled from an unseen wind, hair whisked back and forth by the same force as they stood still through the whole process.

"It does, a little," admitted Alyse, giving him a quick grin. Personally, she likened the feel to being in the ocean with the waves lapping up against her body and the immense power it suggested in its movements but he was right in that it occasionally tickled in its passage through her.

Eventually the ring of power and light died, leaving them intact in the center of the room no worse for the experience besides their eyes being a bit dazzled and a feeling of overwhelming peace.

"You're clean," declared one of the elders before rising from his spot along the wall, rising to shuffle out and the rest following leaving them standing there unsure of what to do next.

"You're to come with me," said a runner who stepped up just as they'd decided between the two of them to head back to their quarters. "The council wishes to see you."

Alyse exchanged looks with Landon before nodding for the runner to lead the way. "Go on, we'll follow."

And so they did, winding their way through the many, many twisted hallways before ending up in front of the main room facing the council who was seated along the far wall as usual. "Thank you."

"They are awaiting you now." The runner disappeared to whatever other duties awaited him, leaving the pair to find their way from there and so they did as quickly as possible.

"I see you made it through the test alive," commented one of those seated before them with a satisfied nod. "That is most excellent, we were a little worried when we realized the test had not been presented before now and that such a mistake may have proven to be fatal to one or both of you."

"It's alright, we survived well enough as usual," replied Landon with a shrug as Alyse just kept her comments to herself for once. It would be unwise to anger the council, and that is all her traitorous tongue would likely do at this time.

"Very good indeed. Here is your next assignment…" It only took a bit of time to finish the paper work part and the two were turned loose on the road once more.

"Come on, let's get moving," said Alyse with a grin as she pushed her horse into a swift gallop. "Our little kitty friend is waiting for us somewhere out there, and I for one am quite glad to be out of that stuffy hole once more."

Landon just smiled and raced after her, used to her occasional moods by now. And so off they galloped to the next leg of their many journeys.

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

"How about south this time, my little fuzzy friend?"

Briteyes and Silvan stood at a crossroads, behind them Summersea and their most recent visit there.

South is one way we haven't been, isn't it?

"Not that far, anyways, and going down the cost a ways might be interesting," replied Briteyes carefully. "My map doesn't go that far, but the land is supposed to be pretty fertile so we could probably scrounge for food if we had to and sleep under the stars when we can't find a place to sleep."

We haven't done that for awhile.

"No we certainly haven't."

Briteyes leaned her staff up against a tree, sitting down for a moment to adjust her sandals. The sun was high overhead, leaving her plenty of time to keep walking and find a town for the night. True it wasn't like she even knew that there was one, but that was half the fun of traveling alone. Seeing that which you'd never seen before and enjoying the freedom of answering to no one but yourself.

Do you think Kristen's forgiven you yet? asked Silven as she jumped down and wandered about a bit, finding a nut and prying it open with her powerful jaws to get at the juicy meat inside.

"Probably not," replied Briteyes with a short laugh. "But she will when we get back, she always does. Yeah, I know, it's not nice, but…you know how Cam would look at him and I can't say no to his puppy dog eyes…"

You and your boys snorted Silven as she jumped up her friend's shoulder, holding on carefully as she stood again and grabbed her staff. I swear…

"It really is too bad that Ben could never come to see such a wonderful place as this," commented Briteyes sadly. "He would've loved it here, right?"

What are you…oh…yeah…right… Silven twitched her tail as she settled herself down, remembering that fateful day when they'd locked Briteyes memories away. To her, it was a betrayal of her best friend's trust but whatever it took to keep her sane…and alive.

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Randy huddled over his horse grumpily, just barely managing to keep up with Bryanna and Olivia in front of him. "Why do we have to keep heading north?" he whined as his breath came out in clouds of white frost. "It's so cold up here…"

"It doesn't bother me at all," said Olivia from her saddle, perfectly home in the evening chill. Truthfully, it made it easier for her to work her magic in this sort of environment and she was having fun experimenting when they stopped at night.

"I'm alright," added Bryanna with a grin, wrapped up in a layer of warm furs she'd purchased at the last town. "If you'd spent on your extra change on some warmer clothes instead of a bottle of wine you might not be so cold."

"It seemed like a good investment at the time!" retorted Randy with a growl. "How was I supposed to know we were gonna keep going?"

"Perhaps by the fact that we haven't stopped as of yet?" suggested Olivia lightly, in rare form as she enjoyed the ride into the town up ahead. "Relax, it'll start to warm up here soon, and it won't get any colder during the day than it does in late spring. Once summer's here in full swing, you won't even realize how far north we really are."

"I hope so…"

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Cheeks stood at the edge of the fields, a content look on his face as he surveyed their work over the last few months. The air of doom and gloom of just half a year ago was gone, replaced by a hope for a brighter future that felt strangely cliché and yet ever so right for the present regardless. Granted, it hadn't been easy, but somehow the fact that it just hadn't been handed to them on a silver platter made it that much better.

A presence appeared at his side, and he turned to see Kaitlin standing there looking out at the field too.

"See something?" he asked, turning back towards it.

"No, just the fields, you?"

"Just the fields."

"Then why the crap are you staring out at it like there's gold hidden under there or something?" Her words were teasing though, and he just shrugged as she put her hands behind her back and rocked back on her heals lightly.

"Because I can…and because it looks so much different from just a little while ago," he replied slowly, shielding his eyes from the setting sun as he did. "It's almost exactly like life was before. The fields green, enough food in the pantry…almost exactly the same…"

"Except we lost Jem," finished Kaitlin for him quietly, her head bowed when he glanced back at her.

He agreed with a nod, swallowing past the hard lump in his throat. "Yeah, except for that. He was good kid, you know, I miss him sometimes."

"We all miss him," she replied softly. "A lot."

"Do you think he's happy right now?"

"Wherever he is, I do hope so." She looked up with a slight smile. "You know, he used to run in the fields…he loved it out there for some reason. He'd come back in all dirty, and Brenna would yell at him for making a mess by the door, but he'd just duck his head with a smile and wash the layers of dirt off by the well as happy as ever. The last thing I remember before he disappeared, he could barely stand let alone run. He was so sick and tired…" She trailed off and left it there, neither one of them voicing the thought that crossed their minds.

"I'm sure he's ok," said Cheeks after several moment of silence, turning back towards the house abruptly. "Let's go, you still have to get dinner on the table."

"Yeah…" Kaitlin gave the fields one last look, hoping in the deepest parts of the house he was right before running after him in the dimming twilight.

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Kristen was just breaking up another class when the head of the Acalon house, Gran'ther Edoar, came walking in with one of his younger relatives at his side. The young boy was no more than ten, perhaps eleven years of age. A long face and amber skinned much as his grandfather was, the two were clearly of the same blood and she guessed by the way the lad was pushed forward the elder had a favor regarding the boy.

"What can I do for you, Gran'ther Edoar?" she asked with a polite bow, giving him enough respect without catering to him unnecessarily. If there was one thing she didn't do it was groveling, and thankfully this old man was smart enough to realize that.

"Just a bit of a favor," he said, jerking his head at the boy at his side. "Pasco has been having some…trouble learning with the rest of the kids in his physical workouts. If it is not too trouble I would appreciate it greatly if you would take over his training for a time, teach him a bit about what it truly means to fight for your living." He raised his brows significantly at that. "He's been taking such training too lightly so far, would rather tip toe around like some feathered beast in flight."

"Taking it lightly, eh?" She gave him a once over, immediately remembering all that she had read about him in the books. The grandfather wanted him to become a fighter, did he? Well, that certainly wouldn't do… She nodded suddenly, breaking into a diplomatic smile. "Yes, I think I can fit that into my schedule. Right now, actually, it's my one free point in the day, currently."

"Really? Thank you very kindly, Mistress, we will of course pay for your services."

"There's no need," she assured him with a wave of her hand. "Just leave him here, and I'll return him by the next bell's time."

"Very well. Pasco." The old man held his younger relative's eyes carefully. "You will obey Mistress Kristen and that which she wishes to teach to you, do you understand?"

"Yessir."

"Good."

And with that he left, leaving the two alone. Sizing each other up, Kristen suddenly cracked a smile.

"I remember you very well indeed," she said to herself, surprised when the boy heard her and replied.

"Remember me? From what?"

"Ah…just the dinners your family has been kind enough to invite me and my companion's too," she replied quickly with a shrug.

"May I ask you a question, Mistress?" he said, feeling braver with the relaxed way in which she was working with him.

"Go ahead," she replied with a nod.

"Are you mated to any of the men you live with? My cousins wanted to know, said it was odd for a female to live with so many males unattended by at least one of them."

Kristen turned an interesting shade of red at that and gave him a look that near frightened the soul out of the boy right there and then. "No," she said tightly. "I most definitely am NOT. You may say that one of them is my brother, and another my cousin…my sister has been known to live with us for periods of time as well. But no, I am not 'mated' to any of them, as you so tactfully put it."

Pasco turned red from the top of his head to the tips of his toes, clearly embarrassed and now looking like he wishes he'd never opened his mouth at all. Kristen silently echoed that sentiment, but there was nothing she could do about it now and turned the conversation instead towards the work that she needed to do.

"Why is it exactly that your grandfather sent you to me?" she asked pointedly, now fully down to business. "Something about being 'tippy toes'…?"

"My family are Harrier's ma'am," he explained slowly, obviously reluctant to finish the rest of the statement. "And…"

"And…?" she prodded him slowly.

"And…I'd rather dance."

Kristen had to hide her grin as he hung his head shame-facedly. "Well, well, well…a dancer, eh? That takes just about as much work as fighting, actually, even those who have a knack for it have to work for years to become the best. If you wanted to do so I imagine you could, but it would involve just as much work as your family tries to put you through now." Pasco peaked up at her, surprised at her positive words regarding his dream. "In fact, from the look of you, you'd make a better dancer than a fighter any day. A bit on the scrawny side, a good bit more lithe than anything else…and you have more grace than most boys your age do. Yes, definitely more of a dancer than a fighter, I'd say."

"Do you dance?" he asked tentatively.

"Ha! No." His face fell again at that. She sighed, with a shrug. "But I suppose I could teach you a thing or two about flexibility…that's pretty important for a dancer, right?"

"Yes, it is," he agreed quickly.

"Alright then, come on…" She led the way towards the back, where it would be easier to work in the light of the afternoon sun. "First we'll go through a lot of the stretches we use to keep ourselves limbered up."

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Trevor rolled around in his bunk, finding himself to have a great deal more room than usual, and having no idea how that was possible. His blanket seemed to stretch forever, and no matter how much he moved around he had yet to hit the edges or the wall. It was wonderful and so very strange and the same time. He heard someone calling his name in the distance, though it seemed to boom in his ears as if projected from something much, much larger than himself.

"TREVOR! TREVOR, IT'S YOUR…WHERE DID HE GO?? TREVOR'S NOT DOWN HERE!"

Trevor sat up in his bunk at that, finding himself in a sea of rough cloth that seemed to envelope him endlessly. Someone turned over his bunk in a fit of annoyance and the Trader found himself suddenly falling through the air and landing rather painfully a long ways down from where he'd started onto the floor. That definitely confused the crap out of him, he shouldn't have that much a difference between the height of his hammock and the floor…not to mention the floor seemed to be a lot rougher than before and the space it covered a great deal larger as well…

"Oww…what the crap?" He sat up rubbing his head slowly, finally standing to realize something large was coming pounding towards him and at a quick rate. Scrambling off to one side, he let his instincts take over his motor controls for a couple of moments as it passed by and the vibrations as it landed near him shook him off his feet. Watching it wordlessly as he had no idea what to say as of right now, he realized it was a boot and he barely came up to ankle at best.

"Shurri defend me…"

"Trevor?"

The young man looked up at the familiar voice, seeing something hovering up in the air far above that looked fairly similar to Nicole but was far too large to be her. In fact…he'd wager she was just a couple of inches shorter than him. Except for that wasn't possible, he reasoned as his mind quickly pieced it all together. She was a miniature human…no taller than his ankle…except that he had just been…oh crap…

"I'm…no but that's not…what the hell is going on?!?!"

Nicole heard his cry and immediately angled herself upwards, as it was high in the air that she normally found him compared to herself. "Trevor, is that you? Where are you?"

"On the floor."

"What? Where, I can't see you anywhere!"

"Try under my hammock…" replied the young man as he sat down hard. "I think…" He looked up at her as she came into view, complete and utter confusion in his eyes with shock and surprise in hers. "I think I shrunk."

She blinked, then came a bit closer as she landed gently on her feet. "Trevor…? You look different when you're not so big…" She blushed as she finished just how different in the back of her mind and firmly left it there. "Um…why are you my size?"

"I don't know!" he replied as he scrambled to his feet, hearing others call for them above their heads and attempting to ignore it as best as he could. "Last night I went to sleep as normal as ever and this morning I woke up, POOF, a fraction of my usual size!"

"Well, that's not normal…"

"YOU THINK?!!" Trevor took a deep, shuddering breath after that outburst, a little ashamed of himself but more concerned with the concept of restoring himself to his normal size. "Look…you're a mage, right? How do I undo this? I don't wanna be small!"

"Hey, being small isn't exactly a bad thing!" retorted Nicole shortly, giving him a disgruntled look as she did. "And besides that…I honestly have no idea at all. This sort of thing isn't my expertise, the shrinking or the growing of living beings. All I deal with is winds and weather, that's all."

"So you can stop a storm, but have no chance what so ever of returning me to my size?"

"Um…yeah, pretty much."

The young man sighed, putting his head in his hand as he rubbed his forehead gently as it to ward of an oncoming migraine. "This…this is not good."

Nicole smiled, offering him her hand which he'd never even truly seen before since it'd been too small to notice. He'd also not quite grasped what a wicked gleam would appear to be like in her eyes before, and found himself not quite so disappointed as he had been 30 seconds ago. "Welcome to my world."

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Landon was tending the fire while Alyse did her usual meditations and power sweeps, searching as ever for the presence of unmagic. The young man wasn't expecting much, nothing had turned up in the last few days and her range didn't vary that much from one day's worth of travels to the next. And so he was very unprepared when she came awake and immediately rose, reaching for the juice that was always waiting nearby and immediately gulping it down with a sense of urgency.

"Douse the fire and pack your things," she said the moment she could talk, doing exactly that with her own things. "We move tonight."

"But…we've just settled in for the night!" he protested though he obeyed slowly.

"Settled or not, I just felt a flare to the south," she replied with a shrug. "And it's one I can't recognize as a mage or a particular spell, which means it might be something new and we should investigate it as quickly as possible."

"Ok, I guess you're right…"

The horses were saddled and ready to leave within minutes, and as they mounted Landon threw one last regretful look over the neat camp they'd built for the night before turning away and galloping after his partner. They had only traveled for three or four hours when Alyse called for a halt, tossing Landon her reins and falling into another trance. Much time passed, and by the time she opened her eyes Landon was as thoroughly tired as she was ticked off.

"It's gone," she explained roughly as she pushed her horse on, confusion and anger battling for ground in her eyes. "I don't know how or where but it's gone."

"Has it passed into a place we can't follow it?" asked Landon around a yawn.

"I can't tell, but I don't think so," she replied as she took her reins back, distracted slightly by whatever it was she had seen in her mind's eye. "Come on, we're going to keep moving for as long as I've still got the place marked in my mind."

"But I'm…" Landon's complaint died on his lips when she gave him an irritated look, nodding in compliance. "Yes ma'am."

"Good. Let's go."

::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::&::

Briteyes enjoyed the fruits and warmth of the south, often staying several days instead of just one or two at each place that she found herself welcome as she traded her songs for those that they knew and learned a great many things that she'd never known before. Silven was quite a hit with almost anyone they met, the silver, and quite intelligent, squirrel a rarity that far south. It wasn't until they had reached a large town in the midst of a desert that they had their grandest adventure in the southern regions, though.

It was larger than most, sprawling for a couple of leagues in all directions with large, stone walls built in layers around it. At the gate Briteyes was required to give her name and profession, and as she took a rest at a public fountain a squire from the Baron of the region came calling her name through the streets.

"I'm her," she said when he came closer, waving him over with a nod though she made no move to rise and continued to eat her meager lunch of bread and cheese. "What is it you require of me?"

"The Baron invites you come and speak with him at his citadel," explained the squire, though he clearly thought little of her when he saw the state of her clothes from their long travels. Sure, she was a great deal worse for the wear than usual, but he needn't sniff so as she mounted the horse he'd brought for her and led the way back to the giant structure in the distance.

Uppity jerk muttered Silven as the man haughtily left them with the servants to lead to the Baron, showing just how little he thought of his employer's current guest.

"Someone will show him his place eventually, I'm sure," replied Briteyes quietly, careful not to unnerve anyone around them as several didn't take people who conversed with squirrels very well. "It just likely won't be us."

I could've beat him within an inch of his life with a sword if I were still a human and this was Tortall complained the squirrel quietly.

"It's not, though, and so you won't."

"The Baron was told you were quite weary from your journeys and has granted you the loan of one of his room's to freshen up," said one of the maids in a no-nonsense manner that let the performer know she wasn't going to get her audience with the Baron (even though she hadn't requested it) until she had bathed and changed clothes. "Do you require any assistance?"

"No thanks. I'll do just fine on my own," Briteyes replied quickly with a shake of her head. She entered the room that she'd been led to and quickly tossed her dusty bag onto the bed in a way that made the maid wince. Knowing she was being cruel, the young woman couldn't help but smirk slightly as she tossed herself into a chair, dirty clothes and all, and began the process of removing her filthy sandals one thong at a time. "How do I reach you when I have finished grooming myself as ordered?"

"Ring the bell here," replied the maid, giving the rope beside the bed a quick tug. "And we will attend you as quickly as possible. Leave your things here when you are through, and they will be washed and mended for you."

Briteyes couldn't help but laugh as the woman eyed her one more time and closed the door, knowing she wished to burn the rags that encased the performer more than anything else in the world at the moment. And had she a spare pair other than her performance set, she would, but she didn't and thus it wasn't an option.

Stripping, a quick soak in the steaming tub that awaited her with a scrub brush and a bar of scented soap easily wiped away the last of the road grime that had clung to her and a thorough washing of her long, tangled hair left it cleaner than it had been in quite some time. Drying herself as quickly as possible, she found a dress waiting for her and scorned it, reaching instead for her dusty bag and pulling out one of the greatest gifts that had ever been given to her. Sandry had made her a pair of performance clothes exactly like her last set with her special fabric that never wrinkled and rarely let stains cling to it in the least.

Donning the fine pants that just barely swept the floor with a clean pair of sandals that were decorated with silver trim especially for times like this, the top was slipped over the top along with the hood and her mask. Earrings were put in place, as well as her one necklace and armband that identified her to other musicians. Her instruments she tucked in various places around herself, and dutifully ringing the bell after applying the bit of theatrical makeup that she allowed herself to wear that would accent her eyes through the mask, she was quickly ushered to a pavilion in the gardens beside a fountain that cooled the air and a rich collection of cushions and chairs.

"Baron Uzkran, announcing the performer Briteyes," said the servant who had led her there, immediately disappearing into the background and leaving them alone.

"Baron," she said politely, falling into the performer's bow as gracefully as she could with a freshly cleaned and dressed Silven balancing precariously on her shoulder. "My deepest respects, sir. I understand you wished to speak with me…?"

"I did," he replied as he rose, his other guest rising as well with an amused smile on her face. "Though…it is a bit disconcerting speaking to one who wears a mask, may I request you to remove it?"

"As you request." Briteyes did as was asked, merely letting her lips twitch into a wry grin when he raised his brow at her scarred visage. "Most find my face even more so."

"Even so, I would prefer it to be removed for our meeting," he said as he sat and motioned for them both to do so as well. "Player, this is Yazmin Hebet, one of the greatest dancers the world over."

"I have heard a great deal about you, and was even given the chance to hear you play at one of your street performances," explained the dancer when Briteyes was not given an introduction in return. "And have heard a great deal about you from one of my friends, a dedicate at Winding Circle."

"Lark," replied the performer immediately, breaking into a smile. "Of course…I apologize for not remembering sooner."

"Oh no, you were not given any warning that I would be here," replied the dancer with a smile. She was very pretty with large brown eyes, a small nose and a pointed chin. Her tumbled mass of brown hair was pinned up from her face, leaving just a few here and there to hang down in a graceful manner. "In fact, it was I that requested the Baron to call you here."

"Is that so?" Briteyes let Silven down from her shoulder, the squirrel settling herself on the elder girl's lap where it was more comfortable. "Can I ask as to why?"

"We are to have a celebration tonight," explained the Baron with a delighted look on his face. "And Yazmin is to dance for us! The performers have been assembled at her request, and when it was announced that another performer had arrived in the city she gave the order to bring you in immediately."

"I was delighted to learn you were truly the Briteyes Lark has told me about in her letters," explained the dancer with a smile. "From what she has told me you will be more than a match to keep up with me."

"Oh, you have trouble finding performers who can last more than a turn or two with you?" laughed the performer with a shake of her head. "I think I can do better than that, though Lark is too kind in her praise."

"She is nothing of the sort, not after living with her dear friend for all these years," replied Yamiz with a mirthful look in her eyes. Briteyes agreed though she said nothing verbally, Rosethorn was quite sharp when she wished to be and she had no doubt Lark had toughed up a bit over the years while working with her. "Then you will play for us tonight?"

"I will, if it pleases the Baron," she replied quickly. "As will Silven, should you wish her to." Silven perked up, prancing on over to the dancer when the woman peered at her curiously. Letting herself be picked up, she inspected her new companion much in the same manner as she was inspected and politely gave a short bow as she was set back down on her feet. "Show off…" muttered the performer under her breath when the squirrel bounced back up onto her shoulder.

"It pleases me greatly if you would both lend us your talents for the evening, the children will be as delighted with your pet as they will with your music and Yazmin's dancing."

I'm NOT a pet!

"Oh, hush you…then we will be there, sir."

"Wonderful! I will leave you in Yazmin's capable hands in preparations for the evening and be off myself to oversee the decorating of things." The Baron rose as the two ladies did as well, bowing as he quickly waddled away and summoned two servants to his side.

"You are exactly as I imagined," commented the dancer as she led Briteyes to another pavilion where her own crew waited, giving out orders as she went.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" replied the player with a grin.

"Good if you can play half as well as Lark has said."

"Oh, I think I can manage at least that much."

"Then I think we shall get along very well indeed."

And with the success the performance that night presented, they did indeed.

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Olivia looked over the Syth, the huge body of salt water far, far to the north in amazement. Whereas the Pebble sea was very peaceful and calm with the exception of the occasional costal storm, this sea was dark and vibrating with its intense nature. It was if the two were twins, one light and one dark, with such a profound difference that she was simply dumb struck by it all.

"Olivia…?"

She turned at the sound of her name, finding Randy a ways down the dune that she stood at the top of waving his arms.

"Come on back down, Bryanna found us a place to stay!"

"Where?" She called back though she had begun the rough way back down nearly loosing her footing once or twice in the loose sand.

"With a glassmaker's family! They do magic with that sort of thing, more along the academic standpoint of things, and Bryanna wants to see if any of us can pick up on any of it."

"Oh…ok."

Shaking out her skirts as she got to the bottom, she gave him a slight smile as he held her horse steady for her and she mounted it with ease of practice. "Glassmaker's will be something different for a change," she said with a low chuckle as he turned his own horse around and headed back towards the city in the distance.

"I think our whole life in general is different from what most people experience," said Randy with a snort. "Being mages, being wanted forever with no real basis to it, and now being set free and claimed as Masters…"

"At a rather young age as well."

"Yeah…"

"Come on, no use in keeping Bryanna waiting when it will only make her mad at us," said Olivia as she hurried past him, urging her horse to break into a steady gallop. "Race you!"

Randy smiled. "You're on!"

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And there it is, finally, your 23 chapter of Summersea Saga. Thanks to the few of you who review (or bug me incessantly :P) for it is for your sake alone that this story is still going. There's a projected (possibly) 6 or 7 chapters left before the end, so continue to hang on until then! Again, thank you to those who continue to read and review as you do, I truly do appreciate it.

crosseyedbutterfly


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